I love how Jesus addresses the disciples who leave John the Baptist to come and follow him. The first thing he asks them is, “What are you looking for?” He doesn’t tell them to go away, but he also doesn’t just allow them to follow unnoticed. He wants them to articulate what it is they seek; to acknowledge their own agency.
But they answer a question with a question. “Rabbi, where are you staying?” They do not ask where Jesus is going; they ask where he is staying. Perhaps because they do not want to simply follow. They want to be where Jesus is. They want to abide with him.
Benedictines are asked a similar question when we stand in front of our Prior and community to make our solemn profession of vows: “Beloved, what do you ask of God and God’s holy church?” The response is that we seek the mercy of God, and fellowship in community. We are not looking for easy answers or someone to make our choices for us. We are looking for true conversion of life, not just the stuff on the surface. We wish to abide with and become more like Christ, in all the messiness and holiness of community.
“What are you looking for?” is a question not just for religious, but for all of us as disciples of Christ. How often do we ask ourselves that, and how often are we asked? What would be your answer if someone asked you that today? Would your answer be different depending on the circumstances of your life in that moment? Do we simply want someone to follow? To tell us where we are going? Or do we truly seek to abide with Christ?
And if our answer to that last question is ‘yes!’ we will find that our Lord gives us the same enticing and glorious answer as the disciples received: “Come and see.”
Mother Amanda