“What do you want?” These are the very first words Jesus speaks in the Gospel of John. The question is addressed to the first two disciples, who represent the first Christians and all those who want to follow Christ.

The text begins with John the Baptist, who is intensely waiting for the coming of Christ. His attitude of expectant waiting enables him to see the events that take place on a deeper level. The Baptist does not just simply glance at Jesus as he passes by. He tries to penetrate the mystery of the one who passes before him and he would like his disciples to do the same.

By calling Jesus the “Lamb of God”, he sees Jesus as the one who will fulfil God’s words and promises. Like the suffering servant in Isaiah, who takes upon himself the afflictions of the God’s people and, though innocent, is slaughtered like a lamb (see Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12) and like the paschal lamb that becomes the symbol of Israel’s redemption (see Exodus 12:1-28), Jesus’ giving of his life out of love will redeem all humanity. The surprise is that Jesus comes as a lamb, a creature that is simple and humble, in order to save the world.

Jesus is passing by. As in many other passages of the New Testament, Jesus is seen as a pilgrim. He is not just “standing there”; he knows that his life has a purpose. If you want to get to know him, you must follow him.

The reaction of the two disciples of John is immediate. They hear, they look and they follow. Is not this how faith is transmitted? We hear the good news about Jesus, we see the way the Christian community lives and we decide to follow him. Unlike the first disciples in the other gospels, these two disciples have already been searching. In this sense they are closer to many people today.

Jesus becomes aware that he is being followed. It is a crucial moment. He turns and asks, “What do you want?” This is a fundamental and universal question, valid for a Christian as well as for any human person. We live in a world where we can choose from so many possibilities. But do we truly know what we want? Are we in tune with our deepest and most sincere desire? It sounds like a simple question, but if taken seriously, the answer can change our life.

Furthermore, Jesus asks this question to two people who already have a “master”, John the Baptist. Thus he is also asking: what has led you to leave your first master? What do you see in me? What makes me different? What can I offer you?

Jesus takes these two men seriously and allows them to express their desires. Perhaps, when we are taken seriously and someone is willing to listen to us, something in us can be transformed. The disciples respond with a question: “Teacher, where do you live?”

This question is not about Jesus’ residence; they are not asking for his address. The question begins with the word “rabbi (teacher)”, which indicates that they see Jesus as a guide, that Jesus does have something to teach them and that they are willing to take the necessary steps to follow him. In biblical language the verb “to follow” means much more than just going after the person. It means to live with that person, to know them intimately, to such an extent that you become like them.

In John’s vocabulary the word “to stay, to dwell, to remain” has a special significance. To know where a person stays is to know where their lives are rooted. At one point Jesus says to his disciples: “If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love” (John 15:10). Jesus remains in the Father’s love; his dwelling place is the love that unites him to his Father. This is the secret to his life, what gives it meaning. When the disciples ask: where do you live, they are asking to enter and participate in that unique relationship between Jesus and God.

Jesus’ answer to the disciples is “come and see”. If they want to enter that unique space where Jesus remains, they must take a risk—the risk of trusting; the risk of faith. In the language of John’s gospel, to go or come to Jesus is equivalent to believing in him. Faith is first of all a response, a moving towards a person. Faith sets our life in motion; it allows us to follow.

The evangelist tells us that the disciples stayed with Jesus that day. What did they speak about? We do not know. What we do know is that this encounter with Jesus transformed their lives. For those willing to open their lives there can be an encounter with someone that changes the course of their history.

August 2026

Words of Life

Matthew 7:24-27

Jesus said: Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

July 2026

Jesus, Mediator of God and Humankind

1 Timothy 2:3-6

God our Savior desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. There is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave his life to set all human beings free—this was attested at the right time. This passage from Paul’s first letter to Timothy begins with a reminder of God’s definitive plan, the universal salvation of humanity: God "wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This salvation is brought about through Christ’s gift of his life: he is the one, Saint Paul continues, who “gave his life to set all human beings free.”

June 2026

Praying in Secret

Matthew 6:5-6

Jesus said: Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. . There are few passages in the gospels where Jesus offers concrete, practical advice—almost to the point where a literal interpretation is called for. When we read “love your enemies,” for example, we are invited to apply this teaching to our lives, knowing that it is a challenge to love that is possible only with God’s help. But when we hear “When you pray, go into your room,” or to a private place, this is a practical example that most people can follow at home.

May 2026

Widening our Friendship

Acts 2:1-11

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

April 2026

The Mystery of the Passover

John 12:20-28

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who cling to their life lose it, and those who are not attached to their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor."Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—"Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name."

March 2026

Do You Want to Get Well?

John 5:1-9

There was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethzatha in Aramaic, which has five covered walkways. A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways. Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, someone else goes down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)

February 2026

Where are You Staying?

John 1:35-39

The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples. He looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Here is the Lamb of God." The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What are you looking for?" They said to Him, "Rabbi – which means Teacher – where are you staying?" He replied, "Come and see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about the tenth hour (around four in the afternoon).

January 2026

"If You Knew What God Gives"

John 4:5-15

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

December 2025

An inner light

John 1:1-12

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.

November 2025

Finding our way

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Now, the boy Samuel was serving the Lord in the presence of Eli; in those days it was rare for The Lord to speak; visions were uncommon. One day, it happened that Eli was lying down in his room. His eyes were beginning to grow dim; he could no longer see. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying in the Lord’s sanctuary, where the ark of God was, when the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ He answered, ‘Here I am,’ and, running to Eli, he said, ‘Here I am, as you called me.’ Eli said, ‘I did not call. Go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down. And again the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, as you called me.’ He replied, ‘I did not call, my son; go back and lie down.’ As yet, Samuel had no knowledge of the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Again the Lord called, the third time. He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, as you called me.’ Eli then understood that the Lord was calling the child, and he said to Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, “Speak, Lord; for your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord then came and stood by, calling as he had done before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, Lord; for your servant is listening.’