The Upload
Posted on Jan 16, 2015 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you have had a blessed week!
Our Gospel story for this Sunday is John’s version of how Jesus called his first disciples (John 1:43-51). Actually, it is the second half of the story as the day before this Jesus had called Andrew and Andrew then went and called his brother Peter. Then we come to our story for Sunday in which we are told that Jesus went looking for Philip and when he found Philip, Jesus said to him, “Follow me” (1:43). That is all Jesus had to say, and following that invitation, Philip went and invited Nathanial to do the same.
But Nathanael’s response to Philip reminds us that the divine/human encounter is always a very personal one. In other words, we can’t truly meet God, or come to know God through someone else. To be able to truly follow Jesus and know Jesus we have to encounter him ourselves.
Nathanael scoffs at Philip’s invitation. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” What he means is something like: “This man is from the wrong part of the country, from the wrong social class, he has the wrong accent, he has no real education or training. Seriously, why should I listen to him?” Many people today question Christianity in much the same way: “Can anything good come out of the church? It’s antiquated, behind the times, speaks the wrong language; it’s pre-scientific and irrational; it’s judgmental and full of hate, etc. etc.”
I’m sure Philip was tempted to argue with Nathanael, but instead of arguing with Nathanial about it, he simply responded by saying “come and see” for yourself. Somehow Philip realized that you do not argue someone into a new religious understanding. All one can do is help someone encounter Jesus. The rest is up to the Holy Spirit. Our call is to be like Philip and invite others to “come and see” what God is doing in our lives and in our congregation, to “come and see” what a difference knowing Christ has made in our lives, individually and as a community, “come and see” how Christ could make a difference in their lives too.
Nathanael does come and see and when he meets Jesus, he is convinced by his encounter that Jesus is the Christ and he affirms that by saying, “You are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!” But, more importantly, Nathanael was found by Christ that day. Nathanial didn’t know he needed to be found, but he did. In the midst of his life, through a simple invitation, Nathanial’s life was changed forever, because he allowed Christ to find him.
We all need to be found by Christ. We all need Christ in our lives and it is our job to share Christ with the world. So who do you know that needs to know that God is looking for them? Who do you know that needs a little nudge? Who needs you to invite them, saying, “come and see”? You are Philip, who is your Nathanael?
Shalom,
Pastor Dave