January 18, 2026
Epiphany 2
The Rev. Dr. Elaine Ellis Thomas
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Essex, CT
Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-12; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42
“What are you looking for?” (John 1:38)
In John’s gospel, we first encounter Jesus not in a manger or performing a miracle or teaching his followers. We first encounter Jesus in a question.
“What are you looking for?”
This is just one more way that we all know that I’m not Jesus, because if a couple of randos started following after me, “what are you looking for?” would probably not be the first words out of my mouth. As I said, I’m not Jesus.
“What are you looking for?”
It’s worth understanding, I think, that the Greek word John uses here – ζητέω – is more nuanced than “looking for.” What are you seeking? What do you desire? What are you searching for?
Maybe that’s a question not just for Jesus’s disciples then, but for us now. When you come here week after week, what are you searching for? Community? Friendship? Transformation? Comfort? Jesus?
As we begin a new year here at St. John’s, it might be worth asking that question because there are plenty of people outside our doors who are looking for something, and maybe they don’t know that they might find it right here.
My friend, Stephanie Spellers, is currently on a tour to discuss her latest book, Church Tomorrow: What the ‘Nones’ and ‘Dones’ Teach Us About the Future of Faith. Nones are those who, when asked about religious affiliation, tick the “none” box. Dones are those who, at some point, were connected with a faith community but who were hurt by that or found that Church was no longer relevant for them, so they are done with it. What Stephanie found in interviews conducted around the country is that there is a longing for community and connection, even the sacred and the spiritual, among the nones and dones. They just aren’t finding it here, in church.[1]
Some people come to St. John’s because they are hungry, physically and literally.
Others come because they like to prepare meals for those who come hungry.
Some come here for the music or the liturgy or the bible study or the preaching.
Some come to escape from whatever is weighing them down out there.
There are all kinds of reasons folks come through our doors, and we want them to do that and to feel welcome. But we also have to be really clear about who we are and what ministries and programs we offer and what our worship life is like, because no congregation – not even St. John’s – can be all things to all people. Not everyone will find what they are looking for here. And that is okay. Maybe our job is to help them find the place where their spiritual lives can flourish. I mean, John the Baptist just watched a couple of his guys go off after the new guy. Sure, he knew that he wasn’t the one the world was waiting for, but it can’t have been easy. I mean, if some of you decided you’d had it with me and go off to Old Lyme to Mother Anita at St. Anne’s, that’s gonna pinch a little bit. But then I remind myself that my ministry – ourministry – is not about us, and if someone feels their soul being fed somewhere else, then maybe we could give thanks for their finding a home.
So, maybe people won’t find everything they are looking for here at St. John’s. But the one thing they will find here is Jesus, and if that is who they are looking for, then they will find him.
What are you looking for? Jesus’s first words in John are this question, but he follows it up with an invitation: “Come and see” (1:39).
Those two of John the Baptist’s disciples who follow after Jesus when John identifies him as the Lamb of God, the ones Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” want to know where he is staying. They aren’t asking for a home address. They are asking where he will be, where they can find him. They are curious about him, and when he says ,”Come and see,” they go with him. One of these men was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. And right here at the beginning of John’s gospel, Andrew becomes the first evangelist, because if an evangelist is one who tells Good News, telling Peter that he has found the Messiah is the definition of evangelism.
But I want to go back to Jesus’s invitation to the two to come and see. They ask a question, but he doesn’t answer it. He tells them to come and see.
Sometimes, we think that if people have questions about faith or the bible or Jesus, we have to give them information. Jesus doesn’t give information here; he offers a relationship. It’s an invitation to come alongside. “Come see for yourself,” he says. I suppose that if they had not been satisfied with what they saw, they’d have just gone back to John. Over the course of Jesus’s ministry, many disciples fell away. We don’t hear anything about Jesus being worried about that. He just continued to heal and teach and lead them on a road to Jerusalem and the cross. Again, this is a model for us. Sure, I’d like to keep everyone who comes through our doors, get them involved and engaged in what we are about, but sometimes people leave. Over the years, you have all experienced that, I’m sure. Jesus was not caught up in the number of followers he had or his popularity. He was caught up in the message he came to bring: that God loves the world so much that God came to be with us, to point us toward God’s reign that is in our midst.
If you were thinking that maybe we’d launch a new year with a new scheme for growth or some flashy way of getting people to join us here, you’ll be sorely disappointed this morning.
But if you are truly interested in finding out what people are searching for and inviting them to see what God is up to here at the corner of Cross & Main in Essex, CT, I’ve got good news for you. Together, we are growing in knowledge and love of God and our neighbor by showing up here each week. We are taking care of one another, visiting those who are sick or lonely, seeking and serving Christ at our Soup Kitchen and in our Military Ministry and at York Correctional Facility and in the latest Habitat build.
God is inviting us to come and see. Then we invite others to do the same. We don’t have to understand all the particulars of theology or scripture or anything else, but when you find what you’ve been searching for, you can’t keep that to yourself. Jesus will always be here, asking us what it is we need, and never, ever giving up on us. Jesus will never stop inviting us to come and see.
[1] Stephanie will be in Connecticut in early February for a series of talks on her book. More information here.