Good Question

January 15, 2023 + Second Sunday after Epiphany + Pr. Craig Mueller

Good question. When I talk to my nephew, Preston, and I ask him about his life, sometimes he will reply: Good question.

If you are getting to know someone, it is better to ask open-ended questions so that the other person says more, not less. Where did you grow up? Where are you from? Mississippi, they say. Fine, but that’s a one-word answer. But then you ask: what was it like to grow up in Mississippi?

Jesus asks a really good question in today’s gospel. What are you looking for? It’s the existential question of the ages.

John the Baptist tries to get the attention of his own disciples by pointing to Jesus and saying: “hey, look, this is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” And it works. They start following Jesus. But then Jesus asks them the really good question, “what are you looking for.”

Like us, they don’t know what to say, so they just blather, “where you staying, Jesus? Where you are from?”

With that really good question—what are you looking for?—taking up space in my head this week, a song from my past popped up. Isn’t it amazing how that can happen? 

It’s by Diana Ross. From decades ago! And it could have come right out of questions from today’s gospel.

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?

Do you get what you're hoping for?
When you look behind you, there's no open doors
What are you hoping for?
Do you know?

Good questions. Do you know where you’re going.? Which leads back to: what are you looking for?

Reminds me of shopping, something I don’t necessarily enjoy. We all know the stores where a salesperson hovers over you, watching your every move.

Can I help you? What are you looking for? Can I help you find something?

Oh, I’m just browsing, waiting for something to get my attention, I will sometimes say, just to get rid of the person. Even though I know I’m there to find a sweater. But the opposite can happen, too, right? You need the assistance of a salesperson, and there’s no one in sight, or they’re all tied up with other customers.

Of course, shopping online has become the norm for some people. And if you’re online, and you need help, there’s Siri, right? Siri might say: What can I help you with? In other words, what are you looking for?

Today’s gospel is about seekers. And it’s not so different from advertising. In fact, both spirituality and shopping are getting at the question, “what are you looking for?” But with a very different end in mind.

Digital marketing experts say we are exposed to thousands of ads a day. One writer suggests that every ad is saying the same thing: buy this product and you will have a full life!

Sounds like the purpose spirituality, faith, religion. Breaking through the noise of everyday life to persuade and motivate!

The thing is, in church, in our spiritual lives, we are trying to go deeper than skin cream or the newest gadget. What are you really looking for? What will give your life meaning and purpose? Why are you on this earth?

There is a pastor I know who got three speeding tickets in one year and had to take a Saturday morning class in “obeying the law.” Mike tells of the day when he sat quietly in the back of the room for the class. The instructor called his name. “Mike, here do you live? What do you do? Why are you here?”

 “My name is Mike. I’m a pastor. I drive too fast.” He might as well have been in a recovery group, he thought to himself. 

At the end of the second class, the instructor took Mike aside. “Why are you here,” he asked. “Because I got three speeding tickets.” No, really, why are you going in such a hurry?”

The instructor didn’t just mean driving. He meant life. Then the instructor could have been a preacher when he said: “Life is short. Take your time and enjoy it. There is a grave waiting for you down that road.”1

Then the good question. “What are you looking for?”

I don’t have to tell you that religious participation is in decline these days. Maybe people aren’t looking for church. But are they hungering for something deeper in their lives? Meaning. Purpose. Community. Maybe it will be more subtle than asking them, “what are you looking for?” But it is our chance to engage them in conversation.

And it’s our chance, to invite them, in the words of Jesus, to come and see. Come and see what’s going on at Resurrection Church. In the Lakeview Lutheran Parish. Come and join us as we work for justice in the world, in Chicago, and in Lakeview. As we follow not only Jesus, but other forebears in the faith, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. As we strive for racial healing in a world where every person is of value. No matter the color of their skin, their race, their gender, their sexuality, their religion, their age, their ability.

Come and see. Many people may not know that there are churches—like yours and mine—that not only practice radical hospitality but are open to seekers, doubters, and questioners.

When the disciples ask Jesus where he is staying, he simply says, “come and see.” It’s an invitation. It means leaving behind our comfortable ways of looking at the world, at other people, at religion, at faith.

We can make a list of reasons we wouldn’t invite someone to church. They’ll probably say no. They aren’t religious. They’ll think we’re like all the other wacky Christians they have in their mind. And yet today’s gospel is a challenge to invite others to a deeper life.

There is another really good question in today’s gospel. “Where are you staying,” they ask Jesus. Literally, in language right out of John’s gospel it means, “Where do you abide? Where do you dwell, Jesus. That’s where we want to be.”

“Come and see” is Jesus’ answer to that really good question. Abide in me. Abide in my abundant life, he says to us.

Each Lord’s Day we seek to tune out the distractions and the commercials. And together, in community, to listen for the Spirit.

What are you looking for? I hope it’s not just size twelve. Not just an iPhone in green. Not just the restaurant with the best Yelp review. What are you really looking for? What is most essential for you to grow and thrive and serve?

Come and see! Every Sunday, come, hear the good news. Come, remember your baptism. Come, eat, and drink. Come, be refreshed, and then following Jesus and MLK, depart to share in God’s liberation project for our world!

1Michael Rinehart, “In the lectionary.” January 15, Second Sunday after Epiphany. The Christian Century. January 2023.