"Can I help you find something?" These are words that store workers frequently ask. "What are you looking for?" Many times, when I am approached by a sales associate who asks these words, I respond with something like, "Just looking, thanks." Occasionally I respond with, "I’ll know it when I see it."

We are used to questions about what we are looking for when we are in a store or even by our family as we tear apart the house searching for something. "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help you find it."

In our scripture passage John is looking for something. He is looking for the Lamb of God. John’s ministry as described in John’s gospel is all about John searching for the one who will be revealed to him to be the Lamb of God. He even says, "I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel." So the baptizing and the preaching John did was all done in order that John might witness to the Lamb of God and make him known to all of Israel.

The baptizing John does as described in this gospel is not as important to his ministry as explained in the other gospels. In fact, John is not even called John the Baptist in this gospel. If we were to give him a title based on his work in this gospel, it would probably be John the Witness. John’s purpose is to be a witness that others might know Jesus and his identity as the Lamb of God, the one sent to take away the sin of the world. John’s purpose is pointing others to Christ.

John’s testimony about Jesus is so powerful that two of his own disciples leave John in order to follow Jesus. It is to these first disciples that Jesus addresses his first words in this gospel: "What are you seeking?" or "What are you looking for?"

These two disciples don’t really have an answer for Jesus. I can imagine that having been asked this question, they might have looked dumbfounded at one another trying to come up with an adequate answer. When no easy answer comes, they answer Jesus’ question with a question of their own. "Rabbi, where are you staying?" They can’t really articulate what it is they are looking for but they know they want to follow Jesus to try and figure it out. This might be their version of the response, "I’ll know it when I see it." In their answer, the disciples address Jesus as Rabbi or Teacher. This shows that they already understand themselves to be disciples who have Jesus as their teacher.

They have abandoned their discipleship to John in order to follow this one John has witnessed about. All that they know about Jesus at this point is what John has testified about him. John’s proclamation that Jesus is the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world is the only shred of evidence given for who Jesus is. And yet, for these two disciples that is enough. At least it is enough to go and spend the afternoon with Jesus to try to find out more about this man.

Jesus responds to the disciples’ question of "Where are you staying?" by asking them to "come and see." So they all go to where Jesus is staying and spend the afternoon with him. After spending the afternoon together, Andrew, one of the disciples who had left John to follow Jesus that morning, realizes who he has found and goes to find his brother. Andrew is the first to confess Christ in this gospel when he tells his brother, Simon that they have found the Messiah.

We can look upon Andrew in this passage as a seeker. He had been a disciple of John, so he was looking for something more than a simple job. The fact that he followed this one who claimed to be a voice calling out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord shows that Andrew was interested in finding something. When John claims that Jesus is the one he has been talking about; this one who is greater than him, Andrew and another disciple jump at the chance to follow this new teacher. However, when Jesus asks Andrew and his fellow disciple what they are looking for neither one can come up with an answer. "Where are you staying?" is the best response they can come up with.

Who knows what all went on during this first afternoon that Andrew and the other disciple were with Jesus. Did Jesus teach about the scriptures? Did he heal someone? Did he tell them what his plans for his ministry were? Whatever went on, it was enough for Andrew to realize who he had found. He had found the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one.

The first thing Andrew does after he has made this revelation about who he has found is to spread the word. So just as Andrew has found the Messiah, he goes out and finds his brother, Simon, to share the good news. So now we also have Simon as a seeker. He follows Andrew to where Jesus is staying and Jesus know immediately who Simon is and gives him a new name: Cephas, or in Greek – Peter, or in English – Rock. Without even spending time with Peter, Jesus already knows what he should be called.

Throughout this passage we have the theme of seeking and finding. John testifies to what he has seen (the Holy Spirit coming down upon Jesus in the form of a dove) and found out (Jesus is the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world). These first disciples who follow Jesus are seeking something only to realize they have found the Messiah. Andrew then finds his brother to tell him what he has found. Simon then finds himself with a new name and as a follower of Jesus.

The question Jesus asks Andrew and his fellow disciple as they follow him along the road is one we could also ask each other. What are you looking for? It is not often that we ask this question and expect anything other than a tangible answer. If we were to ask this question in various contexts we would get various answers. But when we ask each other this question in the context of the church, we are asking, "Why are you here? What is it you are hoping to find? What are you seeking?"

John got asked a lot of questions too. Preceding the passage that we read today, he is approached by a delegation from the Pharisees who ask him if he is the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet. When John says that he is none of these things, the exasperated delegation want to know why in the world he is out in the middle of the wilderness baptizing people. That gives John the opportunity to witness to what he is looking for. John isn’t able to clearly tell the delegation from the Pharisees what he is looking for. He speaks of one who is to come after him but it isn’t until he sees Jesus coming toward him that he is able to vocalize that Jesus is the one he is looking for.

In similar fashion, these first two disciples who follow Jesus are not able to answer Jesus’ question of "what are you looking for" immediately. They must first spend some time with Jesus before they know who they have found.

Similar to these disciples, we may not be able to articulate exactly what we are looking for when we come through the doors of this church. The question "what are you seeking?" may stay with us throughout the years during which we explore what it means to be a Christian. The disciples were able to spend an afternoon with the person of Jesus before they were able to articulate what they were seeking. It might take us a lifetime to be able to articulate what it is we are seeking. But in the mean time, we can join together as a community and seek together for the Messiah, the anointed one, the promised Lamb of God.

Thinking back to the store clerk. When the clerk asks, "What are you looking for?" One response could be: "I’m just looking" or "I’ll know it when I see it." But yet another response could be to tell the clerk what it is you are looking for and have the clerk guide you to the proper aisle.

By coming to church and being a part of the faith community, we are all here searching for something. By being a part of the faith community, we have the advantage of not searching alone. There are those among us who have had more or different experiences as they have searched. We can help guide each other as we walk along this path of discipleship together.

What are you looking for? This question is posed to each of us every day. When we have an experience of the Messiah, hopefully we can guide others along the way by saying, like Andrew, "We know what we are looking for and we have found the Messiah." Like John, when we experience the one who comes to take away the sin of the world, we cannot hold that experience within ourselves but we share that joy with others by witnessing to what we have seen, experienced and found. What are you looking for?