“Again the next day John [the Baptizer] was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, ‘What do you seek?’  They said to Him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?’  He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.'”     John 1:35-39a

“What do you seek?”  Such a simple, seemingly innocent, straight-forward question.

I imagine a couple of my students following me down the hallway in between classes and me turning around and saying, “Hey guys, what do y’all need?”  In other words, I must have in my possession some information that they require.  They seek my attention in order to receive some transmission of information.  “When did you say that homework was due?”  “Do we need our science books today?”  “Are we going outside for lunch today?”  “Have you seen Coach?”

Jesus, of course, was not simply asking the disciples what information they required, although they may have interpreted his question that literally (their response was, “Where are you staying?”).  We can infer that Jesus meant much more by considering His response to their question of location: “Come and you will see.”  The Greek verb for “see” used there is ὁράω or “horao,” which literally means “to see or perceive” but is often used metaphorically to mean “to see with the mind,” or “to see spiritually.” (Strong’s Concordance)  The rest of the book of John would suggest that Jesus was indeed all about opening our eyes to a new reality.

When parents go through the admissions process at our school, one of the questions we ask them is, “What are you seeking?”  I often ask my anxious 8th graders who are in the midst of applying out to high schools the same question.

I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with this, but I am left with at least three questions:

1) When parents or students “come and see” my classroom, do they find that Jesus is “abiding” there?

2) After my students have “followed me” for three years, do they leave simply having acquired more information, or have I, with obedience to and help from the Holy Spirit, helped open their eyes to Truth?

3) What am I really seeking?  How would my students answer this question about me?