He found Philip…. Philip found Nathanael…. Come and see.
Four words stand out in today’s Gospel. The first is found. Jesus found Philip and then Philip found Nathanael. Found.
Have you ever been lost? I mean more than taking a wrong turn on a country road or plugging an address into your phone and being directed to place you did not want to go. You can be lost when a beloved pet dies and no longer greets you when you come home. Or lost in yourself, your family, your work. Lost in an addiction, anger, anxiety. Or quite literally lost as my sisters Beth, Amy and I were with my Aunt Kay one bitter cold winter day in New York City.
On my first day of seminary in my first class, Introduction to Theology, Dr. Joseph Sittler began by telling us about Augustine, a fourth century African saint and Bishop. He was a wild young man, stealing for the sake of stealing, fathering a son outside of marriage, causing his saintly mother Monica anguish and worry. Then at the age of 31 he was baptized and wrote a book called Confessions which records his journey from being lost to found. Dr. Sittler quoted a prayer Augustine wrote in the very first paragraph: “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” We are lost with our restless hearts until they rest in God. We often sing of this Amazing Grace, “I once lost but now am found.” Found.
Jesus found Philip and he follows. It almost seems too simple. At Bible study on Wednesday evening, someone said, “This has to be the ‘Cliff Notes’ version of the story.” Jesus goes to Galilee, finds Philip, and says to him, “Follow me” and he does. Did Philip have questions that were edit out by the Gospel writer? Did he make a quick visit home to tell his family where he would be? Or could it be that when Jesus asks you to follow him, your restless heart immediately recognizes who he is and now being found you can’t do anything else but follow?
Next Philip finds Nathanael and tells him, “We have found the one Moses wrote of in the Law, the one preached by the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael sarcastically asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Oddly Nathanael’s rather snarky response seems more believable that Philip’s instant obedience. Nazareth was an out of the way small town, ignored then and today. When a friend visited the Holy Land, I asked if she got to Nazareth. She replied, “We drove near it and the tour guide waved her hand saying, Nazareth is over there.” And it’s not just Nazareth. Years ago, I was invited to an awards ceremony in West Chester where one of our members was being honored for his charitable leadership in Chester County. Afterwards he was interviewed by a reporter who asked, “Where do you live?” He replied, “Phoenixville.” She said, I’m going put Valley Forge in the article. He corrected her saying “I live in Phoenixville.” When the article came out, she’d moved him to Valley Forge. Can anything good come out of Phoenixville, out of Haiti, out of Africa, of El Salvador, of Mexico, of Washington D.C., out of Nazareth?
Then Jesus does something interesting. He doesn’t defend his hometown or confront Nathanael for his blatant prejudice. Instead he genuinely compliments Nathanael, affirming that he has no deceit which means he doesn’t (or can’t) hide his feelings and so speaks his mind. The very quality that contributed to his smart-aleck and sarcastic response in the first place. Jesus lets Nathanael know that he saw him – which is more than physical sight – it is valuing him, paying attention to him, finding him.
This changes everything. Before Nathanael tried to find himself in comparison to others. This never works for on the ladder of success while you look up there’s always someone looking down on you. Even if you make it to the very top, a usurper is nipping at your heels fighting to take your place. Inevitably, hearts live in anxiety, never finding rest, never knowing security, never experiencing peace. But now, Nathanael’s restless heart finds rest in Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, Son of God, the King of Israel. Found.
Next, the three words are “Come and See.” That’s what Philip says to his friend Nathanael. And in the passage, that’s right before today’s Gospel, it’s what Jesus said to Andrew. I love the graciousness of this invitation – there’s no manipulation, demands, or threats, but a sharing of hope that another might hear and experience good news, indeed life-changing news.
This past week when our Bibles studies talked about these three words, “Come and see” there were two reactions. One was profound thanksgiving for a time when someone invited them to come and see. The invitation changed their lives. It’s not that their souls don’t ever get restless, but now they know there is a place where they can be honest about that and hear that they are forgiven and loved. When I was a freshman in college, my friend Wayne invited to Wednesday evening Holy Communion in the small, side chapel at Susquehanna University. “Come and see if you like it,” he said. In his invitation, he gave me a quiet place of peace which I desperately needed. When Introduction to Philosophy shook my faith and I wasn’t sure where God was or even if there was a God, to be among people who thought there was and acted like it, was a gift. Maybe you’re here in this sacred place because you received an invitation to “Come and See.” If so, thank God for the person who extended it to you and if you are able thank the person too.
The second reaction was nervousness. That came after the question, “Have you ever invited someone to come and see Jesus?” “I won’t know where to begin,” one person said. “I don’t want to be perceived as pushy or judgmental,” said another. “Faith is such a personal thing, I have a hard time talking about it.” Then the strategizing began. Perhaps start off with an invitation to the Easter Egg Hunt, Vacation Bible School, Trunk or Treat, a Concert or Sunday School. Invite them to Evening Light and then go out to dinner. Or to Sunday morning worship followed by brunch. Pray for the right words another suggested. I offered that I thought it could be helpful to go back to that moment when you were “found” or if you are like me whose heart is often restless back to one of the many moments when you were given rest, and extend the invitation to “come and see” out of that experience of amazing grace. Then pass the gift of faith forward. A great leader in the Church of India, D. T. Niles once said, “Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” Come and see.
Four words. First, found. In finding us, in going to hell and back for us, in his death and resurrection, Jesus gives us rest for our restless hearts. He finds us and in being found, we find ourselves as beloved ones of God. The other three words, “come and see.” Jesus promises Nathanael he will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. It’s a reborn Jacob’s Ladder, where heaven and earth touch and we know God is in this place. Today imagine those angels – blessed saints who ascending now rest in peace. But also descending ones we have yet to know, who await an invitation to come and see God in this Holy place. Some are still being shaped in their mother’s wombs, others are friends and neighbors with restless hearts hungry for the bread of life. Once lost, but now found, let us be humble and generous in our invitations to come and see. Amen.
David Lose, In the Meantime, http://www.davidlose.net/2018/01/epiphany-2-b-gracious-invitation/, accessed January 12, 2018.