Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

Today we see Jesus beginning His public ministry with a call to those who might follow Him. They look: “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Jesus responds: “Come, and you will see.”

We know these men were following Jesus. He knew it too and He cuts right to the point: “What are you looking for?”

This was more than a simple question as the English rendering posits it. In Greek these phrases about looking and coming to see are happening in the present and the action is being carried out.

It is important to know this because Jesus’ call to us is happening in the present and our response is to carry out all His call entails. More simply, Jesus’ call is now, and our response is to act now.

Further, “What are you looking for?” does not just mean what are you browsing around for. It means: what do you search for with desire?

While some might consider Jesus’ call to Andrew, John, and Peter to represent a call to formal ministry, and indeed that is there, that is not all it was nor the end of the story. We recognize Jesus’ constant call to all who follow Him. Over and over, we hear Jesus calling all of us to follow Him, to be His learners (i.e., disciples), and to do His Kingdom proclaiming work. 

We are to follow Him and do His gospel work actively, i.e., now and with a complete desire within us.

First Corinthians has Paul putting a very fine point on all of this. Our bodies are not our own, are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and are for the Lord.

If you’ve ever done the Hokey-Pokey this is the part where Paul echoing Jesus says, ‘put your whole-self in’ and what is not in the song ‘and don’t jump out.’ We are called to put our whole selves in and to not just leave them there, but to get to work. Be in and present, active for the Lord.

Last week we focused on a word which bridges all seasons of the Church year. It is the word ‘announce,’ in Biblical Greek ἀπαγγέλλω (apangellō). That word, found more in scripture after the resurrection, is what we are called to do. To tell, declare, report, and bring word of all Jesus taught and did. Let us do it actively engaged and with our hearts aligned with Jesus’ desire for the salvation of all.