Thursday, December 29, 2022

 

Thursday, December 29, 2022


Psalm 145

Isaiah 30:15-28

John 1:35-51


And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it”.


One of the advantages of being an Anglican is that we are allowed to try out all different ways of being a Christian. We sift through the wheat for the grains. We take the meat and leave the bones. We dig through the Christmas pudding of global and historical expressions of Christianity for the silver florin.


While this type of spirituality is of course not restricted to Anglicanism, we particularly are encouraged to do this. Just look at our lectionary: we will observe a special day for Julian of Norwich, the medieval mystic par excellence, and then turn to a pioneer of Puritan Reformed theology such as John Bunyan.


If we were to start with medieval mysticism, we would find an expression of Christianity very focused on the interior. There is a sense across the mystics that they are living the lives of people who have found their one, true love, and are spending every waking moment to get as close to Him as possible. Theirs is the posture of the first disciples of Jesus as recorded in today’s gospel reading. “Where do you live?” they ask, wanting to know every intimate detail of their lover, the Lord Jesus. He is a true gentleman lover in return: “Come and see”, He replies, vindicating their enchantment.


Now that we have found our true love, we want to show Him how much we really do love Him. This is the effort contained within the Puritan way of thinking. Jesus Christ is Lord and God, and ours is a relationship not of stern discipline, but loving kindness. How shall we respond?


As Jesus tells the first disciples, He tells to us, too: “Come and see”. Later in this gospel, Jesus promises a Guide, the Holy Spirit, who will come and dwell within us, and lead us home to the Father through the Son. His is the voice we hear behind our ears, telling us “this is the way home; walk in it”.


We pilgrims love the Lord Jesus with all that we have. No part of us is withheld from Him. In return, He gives us everything He has: the Holy Spirit of God. We do well to listen to His voice, because He is our loving God, showing us the path home.




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