In the late 80's, the band of U2 topped the charts with a song that speaks of the uncertainty of the journey and the nature of searching in, "1 still haven't found what I'm looking for." the lyrics speak of climbing the highest mountains, running through the fields, scaling these city walls, and more, "Only to be with you."
The song takes us on a journey, while, at the same time, indicating that there must be something more than the literal path they are on. Ultimately, satisfaction will not be found in this world. It must come from something else, or perhaps someone else. Hopefully that for you and me, this someone else is Jesus.
In the gospel that we just heard, the two disciples were looking for the messiah. They were following John the Baptist. These disciples had already left behind some semblance of ordinary life and had been following John. But, when John said, "Behold the lamb of God," they followed Jesus.
An author, by the name of John Clifford, writes, "While Scripture does not reveal what the disciples were looking for, it is possible they were looking for some of the same things twenty-first century churchgoers seek."
Want to believe that you and I in this time of crisis are also looking for a time when we will be free from the virus. And we put our hope and trust in the vaccines.
But, as I was reflecting on Jesus' answer to the disciples question: "Where are you staying?" "Come and see," I said to myself that Jesus is saying to us today that, while we hope that the vaccines will get rid of the virus, Jesus is inviting us to look for him and invite him to come into our hearts and into our lives. Our holy father keeps inviting us to use this opportunity to look deeply into ourselves and ask ourselves: has this crisis caused me to go to Jesus?
When Jesus told the two disciples: "Come and see," he was not inviting them to a place of abode, but to a relationship, to be part of his life. What we have to remind ourselves is that there are two sets of invitations that the lord throws at us, one we may call is a general invitation and one is a particular invitation.
By accepting baptism and becoming christians, that is a general invitation. But each day, each moment through our decision, our actions, our choices, Jesus calls to us, "Come and you will see:" times when we are sick; times when we are in financial difficulties; times like these with so many people dying as a result of the virus. Every day the Lord invites us to go to him and spend time with him in prayer and in nourishing ourselves with his body and blood. This is how we will develop a personal relationship with him.