Come and See
Transcripts are computer-generated and may not be 100% accurate.
It's good to be with you. Am I on now? Good morning everyone. I'm Debbie Manning, if you don't know me, one of the pastors here at The Table. And as a couple people have already spoken, it has been quite a week, hasn't it?
And I am sure there's not a person in this room who hasn't been hearing the stories or witnessing to being a witness to what's been going on. I can honestly tell you that in the last week there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't heard or witnessed at least a dozen or more stories of the things that have been going on in our neighborhoods, in our cities.
And I thought the best way for me to start before I dive into the message part in our scripture text was with something that my brother-in-law John sent to some of our family members. My brother's niece, a young mom who lives here in South Minneapolis, posted this:
What it's like to live in Minneapolis right now. A snapshot from a mom in South Minneapolis. It's wondering if it's safe to walk your kids to school. What might we witness? What if the busy intersection we cross gets blasted indiscriminately with tear gas? It's answering your first and third graders questions about where their friends have been for the last month. It's trying to be normal. Groceries, swimming lessons, a haircut when nothing feels normal. It's questioning who's sitting in that idling pickup truck in the parking lot of your favorite neighborhood restaurant. Who's driving that SUV parked in front of your house? It's coordinating with parents to ensure kids get safely to school. It's knowing that someone might disappear at school pickup for the crime of parenting while black or brown.
It's hugging already overwhelmed teachers and staff, grateful that their students can safely learn from home, but knowing that being in school is what's best for learning and getting fed. It's so many tears. It's moms and school staff stepping up to handle shit again. It's delivering 200 bags of groceries and iPads and hot spots to families wondering if walking from your car to an apartment building will put people in more danger. It's an ICE agent on the ground floor of that apartment building marching right past you because you're a nice white lady. It's using your privilege for good. It's a hug of gratitude from a terrified mother who hasn't left her apartment in six weeks.
It's wondering how many more weeks, months will this continue? It's wondering how to keep helping without getting burnt out. It's feeling so unbelievably exhausted. It's ice agents patrolling hospitals, listening for Spanish speakers. It's pregnant women too scared to show up for their OB visits. It's US citizens traveling with papers or their passports or whatever they think will prove their legal status. It's knowing it might not matter anyway. It's a video of a Texas man with a neo-Nazi neck tattoo outside your corner bar. It's being scared to walk your dog and doing it anyway. It's looking at every SUV and truck you passed on the road wondering who's inside, praying you don't panic or make a false move. It's knowing they would kill you without consequence.
It's canceled gymnastic practices because a mother was shot in the face six blocks away. It's constant helicopters overhead. It's a tired police department outnumbered five to one. It's bracing for the next terrible thing. It's wondering if people across the country think you're overreacting and you're really, really not. It's cross-country skiing on the lake by your house, grateful for the normalcy. It's feeling like a chomp because your family can move around freely.
It's your gym collecting food and hygiene products. It's the pizzeria raising $83,000 in donations over the weekend. It's the local adult toy shop getting targeted by ICE for stocking up on diapers and formula. It's a feeling like every single resident of your blue city or state is the enemy of the federal government because you have the audacity to live. It's to live there. It's knowing you're part of a community filled with so many good people. It's loving Minneapolis. It's being a proud Minnesotan.
It's wondering who you would have been in the 1930s Germany or 1960s America or 1860s America and knowing that in your own generation's version you are on the side of human decency. You're one of the helpers and you don't need to look far to see who's not.
I think about what people have said forever like what side of history will you be on? And I think a better question for those of us in this room is which Jesus do you follow? Because we are a community committed to practicing the ways of Jesus and it's the Jesus that we know in scripture.
And tonight we continue on in the revised common lectionary. Justin kicked us off last week and in the midst of all that's going on I have to say I was so grateful for his calm presence and the reminder that our sacred text this scripture always has a word that's relevant to us today and in this moment. And it's true of today's scripture. Justin reminded us the revised common lectionary is Hebrew scripture, a psalm, a text from the gospel and one of the letters that is on a three year cycle. So we walk through the Bible in three years. It was something that was established in 1992. So that text that I'm in today was decided a very long time ago and our text today has some words for us. We are in John chapter 1:29-42. And we have John the beloved disciple telling us about another John, John the Baptist:
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and he declared, "Here is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was here before me. I myself did not know him but I came baptizing with water for this reason that he might be revealed to Israel. And John testified, I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it remained on him. I myself did not know him but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, he on whom you see the spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the chosen one."
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples and he watched Jesus walk by. He exclaimed, "Look, here is the lamb of God." The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. And when Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" And they said to him, Rabbi, which translated means teacher, "Where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying and they remained with him that day and it was about four o'clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah," which is translated to anointed. He brought Simon to Jesus who looked at him and said, "You are Simon, son of John. You were to be called Cephas," which is translated Peter.
So I'm going to give you a little heads up on our message today. You got a couple words to keep in mind and that is witness and testify. Now there's a difference between proclamation and testimony. Proclamation announces conclusions while testimony tells the truth about what we have seen. And in today's gospel, John the Baptist, he isn't preaching a sermon. He's not laying out an argument or delivering or defending a position. He is doing something far more vulnerable and far more powerful. He's witnessing. He says, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it remained on him. And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God." John never says, "Hey, here's what you must believe." What he says is, "Here's what I've seen." And we all know that seeing things changes things.
John's ministry doesn't begin out of ambition. It begins out of a calling and it reminds us that our faith does not begin with certainty. It begins with witness. And it's not about having all the answers. It's about being present. It's about paying attention. It's about pointing to where God is already at work. And the gospel of John tells us plainly there was a man sent from God whose name was John. John never claims authority for himself. He stands in the wilderness. He stands in the margins. And he points away from himself. And he points to God and the presence of God in the world. And that's important because John's witness is never about him. John's witness is about God's action in the world.
Here's part of why it matters. Action testimony is often misunderstood because witness isn't simply sharing about what matters to me or what works for me. Witness is naming who God is and how God is at work in the world. And what that claim makes on our lives and the way we live. John reminds us that testimony is not about drawing attention to ourselves. It's about trusting. It's about trusting that God is already at work. He's doing the healing. He's doing the restoring. He's drawing near. And that matters.
It matters because I'm pretty certain there's not one of us stepping into this space that isn't carrying some weariness. I would guess that some of us are even overwhelmed. I'm wondering if some of us even feel a little unsure of what it looks like to even be faithful anymore. But John doesn't ask us to fix everything. He invites us to trust that God is present and to bear witness to that presence in small and faithful ways.
Because here's the thing. If Jesus truly takes away the sin of the world, that sin is far more than some personal failure or moral weakness. It includes everything that fractures the way that God intends things to be. It's the violence, the fear-mongering, the exploitation, the racism, the dehumanization, the systems that deny dignity to people. And here's what John's pointing to, that God is not at a distance. That God has actually stepped into the brokenness in this world and that he continues to do it. And here's the thing, my friends. We are invited to come along with that.
If you notice in that second paragraph of our text, the disciples didn't receive some kind of doctrine from Jesus. He didn't lecture them. He asks a question. What are you looking for? And then he offers them an invitation that still shapes the life of faith. Come and see. And that invitation matters a lot in moments like this. Because we as the church are called to come and see, not to dominate the conversation, but to notice where God is already at work and to testify to that.
Because we as people practicing the ways of Jesus, there is no sitting back and commenting from the cheap seats. This is about coming closer, getting proximate, witnessing so that we can live our life, testing and testifying to God at work. And that means that we ask ourselves the question, where do we see God's spirit moving in our lives, in our neighborhoods, in our city, and in this country? Where do we see God in the midst of fear and uncertainty and chaos? Where is Christ already standing among us?
What we know is here in Minneapolis, the surrounding areas, we are living in anxiety, fear, uncertainty. That's our immigrant neighbors that are carrying fear, fear for their families, fear for their safety, fear for their futures. People cannot leave their homes. People can't go to work. Children can't go to school. People can't fill their gas tanks. They can't get groceries. That is the reality of it. And even those of us who are not directly targeted, we feel the weight of that, the tension, the grief, the outrage at the injustices.
So the question before us, church, is not whether we have the right words, but whether we're willing to be witnesses. Come and see. Do we see Christ present in our immigrant neighbors? Do we see the spirit of God at work and communities under pressure? Do we recognize that when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers, and if John's testimony is true, if Christ is present, then we cannot look away. John names Jesus as the one who takes away the sins of the world, not some of the world, not that deserving part of the world, but the world.
What are we looking for? It's the question that meets each and every one of us right where we're at. It allows room for longing and confusion and hope and even fear. And that question feels especially close right now. Because in moments like this, it can be really tempting to turn away. But the invitation of Jesus is different. He invites us to come closer, to see more clearly, to remain open, to experience Christ present in people who are afraid, to notice the spirit moving in acts of courage and of care, to trust that God has not withdrawn from the world even now.
To testify to Christ in this moment means standing with our immigrant communities, not as saviors, but as their neighbors. It means refusing fear-based narratives. It means offering presence, advocacy, protection, care. Witness as you've been seen. You're not alone. God has not abandoned you and we will not abandon you either. And witness isn't only spoken, it's embodied. It shapes who we are and how we live and where we show up and what we're willing to risk.
The church is called to be the body of Christ, not just talking about love, but practicing it, not just naming hope but making it visible. Time calls Jesus the one who takes away the sins of the world and that tells us something really important about God's love. It tells us that God's love is generous, it's wide, it's long, it's high, it's deep, it's concerned not only with individual hearts, but with healing of communities and the restoration of dignity. Our witness is meant to serve that kind of love.
I don't know about you all, but part of how this message speaks to me is I find myself all wound up and what to do because this is really a hard moment. But this text actually frees us because it reminds us it's never been about us. It's been about God. It's been our responsibilities to point to where God's working, to step into the work that God calls us to and it frees us because responding as witnesses does not mean that we have perfect clarity or we have unending energy because guess what friends, we don't. We are human beings. It means we stay connected. We listen. We show up when we can. And here's what's really important is that we refuse to let fear have the final word.
And this is what I'd say about this beautiful, messy, funny little small community that we've built. You guys are doing that. I'm sure there's not a person in this room who haven't been standing up as witnesses and testifying to God's love for neighbor. We've seen it in the peaceful rallies and protests and vigils. All the people in this community who's gone through the monarca training and are showing up as legal upstanders for their neighbors, as witnesses testifying to what's happening to our neighbors despite the tear gassing. And trust me, I was sitting here in a meeting with Justin on Tuesday morning and the owner of this building walked in after being tear gassed by peacefully standing up when neighbors were being dragged away by ICE.
This community has driven kids to school, have bought and supplied groceries for families whose kids can't attend school. This community has stopped in and supported the restaurants, the coffee shops, the businesses that are owned by immigrants. I myself, Justin, I owe you one, have gotten some gift cards from people that are trying to support these businesses. I've known many people in our privilege that have cleaning services that are run and owned by immigrant families and are rightly paying them even though they cannot afford to show up and clean their homes because it's not safe.
Our partner here that we share space with, Park Place that we are diving into relationship and building some beautiful relationship with, they have gone above and beyond in supporting their community. We have had the privilege of helping out a little bit here and there and last week we put out an ask very spur of the moment. Becca Fino, their executive director said, "Hey, we could use some household items." And let's see, Patty, if you can show that, see that. So this was last Sunday. That happened three times over in my living room. Two people showed up. Beyond that, people have donated money so that Park Place can help with legal funds, with groceries, with paying rent because their families haven't been able to work since the beginning of December.
People have offered legal services, resources, on and on and on people showed up and said, what can we do? Last Wednesday, very spur of the moment, we heard that there were families who needed household items quickly and the Park Place organized everybody and we got bagged up and delivered household, needed household items to 22 families. Small acts of faith that matter. And we as a community will continue to stand with our neighbors.
John's witness is the same witness we're called to. It's steady, it's faithful, it's rooted in love. And we are called to that same kind of witness. Not loud or self-righteous, but grounded and present. Not driven by fear, but shaped by compassion. Because here's the truth, people may not remember our words, but they will remember how we showed up.
So we return to Jesus' question. What are you looking for? And his invitation. Come and see that question, the invitation. It's simple, but it's demanding too. When our neighbors look at us, what do they see? When the vulnerable come near, what do they encounter? Does our life point to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?
Jesus still asks, what are you looking for? Jesus still invites. Come and see. May we be a people who've seen God at work and who are willing to testify with our whole lives.
I'm going to leave us with the clip that I think is a testimony to the love of God, even in the midst of what's happening right now. We demand justice for neighborhood. Our family deserves justice. We are going to meet hatred and cruelty with the unstoppable power of love. We know that fear is a tool of the oppressor. Hope is the antidote to fear. Hope that gathers as evening falls in Minnesota with candles and light held high. We want a prosecution. We want ICE out. And we want Congress to take charge that no more funding be given to ICE by the Minnesota delegation. Let's do this, Minnesota. Let's show this nation who we are.