A sermon on John 1:36-41

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Benignus Catholic Church 
St. Mary Queen of Heaven
and Holy Trinity Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is trying harder to evangelize. It simply means to lead others to Jesus by the light of your faith in Jesus. God calls you to be the star that sheds light on who Jesus is. He is God who loves you. God wants you to live with Him forever. All your hopes for happiness can only be fulfilled in Jesus. 

How do you make followers for Jesus?

A most powerful way to evangelize is hospitality. Hospitality is "the friendly and generous welcoming of guests, visitors or strangers." Christian hospitality is welcoming someone to Jesus by revealing Him in the light of your own faith. Jesus tells you in the bible how to evangelize. It can be found in John 1:36-41. 

Permit me to explain how Jesus evangelized before he started using miracles.

Step One: John 1:36. "When he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus passing by, he said, 'Look, the Lamb of God!'" Here John is sharing his faith in Jesus to two of John's followers.

Step Two: John 1:37. "When the two disciples heard him (John) say this, they followed Jesus." The witness of the Baptist's faith led them to Jesus.

Step Three: John 1:38. "Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, 'What do you want?' They said, “Rabbi” (which means “teacher”), 'where are you staying?'" Jesus acknowledges their desire for God.'"

Step Four: John 1:39. "Come and you will see." So, they went and saw where he (Jesus) was staying, and they spent that day with him." Jesus showed such wonderful hospitality by spending the whole day with them. I can imagine Jesus cooking for them just like He did when he fed the Apostles breakfast after the Resurrection.

Step Five: John 1:40. "Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus." When I was the preacher at Mother of Christ African American Catholic Church in Winton Terrace, I always set aside time for testimony from the congregation about God working in their lives. Their testimony made converts for Jesus.

Step 6: John 1:41. "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah' (that is, the Christ)." Like a tiny snowball rolling down a hill gathering more snow, your faith in Jesus spreads to others. 
 
I ask now an important question. The Magi offered Jesus gifts. What gift will you bring to Jesus? I'll explain with a story from my ministry.

The main work I did at Children's Hospital for 27 years were prayers for healing over some very sick children. I prayed over them daily. There was a nurse in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit who was intrigued by my ministry of prayer. 

She said, "You always seem peaceful in the midst of such suffering. How do you do that?" 

I replied, "It's my faith in God. I feel His presence constantly. God sends angels to watch over these little ones. Some will be healed and go home. Others, their angel will take them home to Heaven. But either way God loves them."

Several months later, I received the surprise of my life. I was praying the noon Mass at the hospital chapel when I saw this nurse sitting in the pew. Then she received Communion when it was offered. She saw the puzzled look on my face and smiled. 

She approached me after Mass ended. "Fr. Mike, you should have seen the look on your face!" She continued, "I joined the Catholic church over Easter. I didn't tell you. I wanted to surprise you." 

I replied, "You did that for sure!"

I asked, "What moved you to join the church?"  

She said, "Your faith. I want what you got."

One day, she asked me for a special prayer. "Please pray that I can have a child. My husband and I have been trying for nine years." 

I prayed for her using the prayer from St. Gerard, patron of fertility. She gave birth to twins. 

Her husband called me and begged, "Don't do that prayer again!"  

I never did. But a third child was born to them. 

I called him and said, "Don't blame me for that one. It's God's doing."

May your faith be the star that leads others to Jesus. "The people living in darkness have seen a great light." (Matthew 4:16.) You be that light. 

Happy New Year.