At noon on a hot day, the mood is calm and serene among three characters: a sharp-eyed John the Baptist and two inquisitive disciples who long for the next step after John, the greatest prophet of the age, indicated God was not far but among us.
Suddenly, the prophet’s shout pierced nature’s murmurs: Behold the lamb of God! They hurriedly followed a young rabbi along unfamiliar paths. They knew nothing except John’s vivid image: “The Lamb of God.”
Freedom and courage compelled them to go after him; noticing them, Jesus’ first words drop as a challenge: “What are you looking for?” What is your soul longing for? What’s missing in your life? What do you seek?
It is a profound question for any religious person: why do you follow Jesus? Out of habit, spiritual hunger, or a desire to immerse into God’s mystery?
The Master wants to listen first; he does not want to impose or indoctrinate; the two boys’ hearts will do the talking.
Rabbi, where do you dwell? Jesus invites them: “Come and see.” The teacher shows us that Christian proclamation, before words, comprises glances, testimonies, experiences, encounters, and personal interactions, meaning no hearsay, though our life goes into the equation.
And that is what Jesus came to bring, not theories but life in fullness (Jn. 10:10). And they go with him: conversion is leaving the security of yesterday for the open future of Jesus, moving from God as duty to God as desire, longing, and wonder.