I think restlessness can be a very good thing. It can be a catalyst to propel one to explore new horizons, an antidote to complacency, a doorway to deeper experience.
As I read the gospel in the lectionary today, I wondered if Andrew and Simon were restless — ready to move to new adventures. The text is the Johannine account (John 1:29-42) of how these two brothers met Jesus. Unlike the other gospels in the Johannine gospel there is no mention of their occupation. The reader is simply told that Andrew and one other (unnamed by John — so maybe a woman even a partner) were disciples of John the baptizer and were standing with him.
Although, the two were disciples of John, they clearly weren’t settled, maybe experiencing that restlessness that urged them to seek something more. So, when they heard John denote Jesus as the lamb of God, they started to follow Jesus. I wonder if they gave John a backward glance!
The story continues that eventually Jesus turned to the pair and asked them what they were looking for. The pair gave an interesting answer, they asked where Jesus was staying — clearly, in their restlessness they were looking for something settled. Jesus invited them to his home.
The story tells nothing of the conversation they had, simply that they remained together that day. However, whatever was said was sufficient to cause Andrew to go and seek his brother, Simon, to announce that he and the other of John’s disciples had found the anointed one. Simon, too, must have been experiencing that restlessness as he, too, immediately went to see Jesus.
Yet, even having found Jesus, satisfying that restlessness as the story continues throughout the gospels and beyond, I can see in these two brothers continual bouts of restlessness, never falling into complacency but always moving towards whatever is next.
I find it a good pattern for life. Not to be unsettled by restlessness but to be more concerned about complacency. To welcome restlessness as an urging, even a deep yearning, to pursue more. To always be looking for, striving towards and ready for the next new adventure.
