Loving God, you give us the simple invitation to come, and to see, and to follow.  Kindle and renew the gift of faith in each of our hearts today, that we might learn to see things through your eyes, trusting in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    In the first chapter of John, before we even get to today’s gospel, there are a number of patterns that are repeated several times.  Various people tell others about what they have seen in Jesus.  An invitation to “come and see” is issued several times.  And a number of different people get found.  “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see...”

    It all starts with John the Baptist, who says to some of his disciples, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” (Jn. 1:36).  He’s the one I’ve been talking about.  “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him” (Jn. 1:23).  He’s the one who’s going to baptize with the Holy Spirit.  And so, Andrew, and another one of John’s disciples start (quite literally) following Jesus.  And Jesus invites them to “come and see.”

    Soon after, some more people are “found.”  Andrew “found his brother Simon” and took him to Jesus.  In the encounter, Simon is given a new name.  From now on, he will be known as “Peter.”  The next day, Jesus finds Philip, and Philip finds Nathanael, and presumably all of them “find” Jesus.  Nathanael, though, is the really interesting one in today’s gospel.

    Nathanael, we might say, is a bit of a skeptic.  It is likely that Philip and Nathanael knew each other quite well.  After all, if you had just found the Messiah, wouldn’t you tell the people who are closest to you?  And so, Philip knows what Nathanael is like, and tells him anyways.  Nathanael’s response is full of skepticism and perhaps even a healthy dose of sarcasm: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

    Can anything good come out of Saskatchewan?  Can anything good come out of Toronto?  Can anything good come out of Attawapiskat?  Philip could have gotten defensive.  He could have thrown up his hands and walked away.  He could have argued with Nathanael.  Instead, he gives an open ended invitation: “Come and see.”  Come, and you will see for yourself.  Philip gives a simple, open, and inviting response.  Could we ever see ourselves giving the same invitation to others?

    Many people today are likely to respond with the same skepticism and pre-conceived ideas that Nathanael seems to have.  Some have had bad experiences in churches in the past.  Some mistrust anything that seems like organized religion.  Some mistrust all pastors and priests because of various scandals, or perhaps even personal experience.  And some believe that Christians and the Bible are dangerous and are to be avoided at all costs.  Yet, can we still invite those people to come and see Jesus?  Or, are we the ones who need the invitation to come and see?

    Every so often I notice how easy it is to slip into our own pre-conceived ideas and perhaps even to miss what God is wanting to do in a particular situation.  For example, consider for a moment how you would react if two of your daughters were shot by a gang member seeking revenge.  Your daughters were at home and were wounded by a 21 year-old who shot at the wrong house.  Would you be concerned about the future of this 21 year-old, or would you expect him to be punished to the fullest extent of the law?  And what would be the response of somebody who follows Jesus?

    I think I could tell you what public opinion says, and perhaps even what many Christians would say.  However, I also believe that this past week, those who were willing to take a look could see Jesus in the aboriginal mother who prayed for her daughters’ shooter.  She looked at this 21 year-old, and she saw, not a man who needs to be punished, but a man who needs to be healed.  She spoke of the support that must have been absent in his life and also spoke of how prison breaks people rather than healing them.  And how many of us would expect to meet Jesus in an aboriginal woman who lives on Victor Street?

    Come and see.  Your pre-conceived ideas might just be wrong, as Nathanael soon discovered.  Obviously, Nathanael did go with Philip to see Jesus, and the first thing Nathanael discovers is that Jesus knows him inside and out.  How can this be?  God is the only one who knows any of us through and through (Ps. 139).  God is the one who knows people’s hearts.  And suddenly Nathanael has an “Aha!” moment and realizes who Jesus is.  God gives him the vision of faith, as Nathanael realizes that he has just met the Son of God, who is the Messiah.

    And with this vision comes even greater promise.  Nathanael will see far greater things, for Jesus will be a link between heaven and earth, and God will no longer be encountered only in God’s house, but now resides in Jesus.  The pre-conceived ideas will continue to get whittled away.

    And so, what happens to us and to others when we come and see Jesus?  One of the first things that we will discover, just like Nathanael, is that Jesus knows us through and through – and loves us.  Jesus knows our hearts and knows both the joys and the sorrows that we experience.  Jesus knows us and loves us and gave his life for ours.

    In Jesus we will also discover the link between heaven and earth – the one who became like us in every respect except sin in order that we might become like him – children of God who are healed, restored, forgiven, and inheritors of eternal life.  Through faith in Jesus and our baptism into Christ, we are now made holy – anointed with the Holy Spirit so that God now also lives in us!

    Really, once we have come and seen Jesus, we begin to see other things differently.  Perhaps, just like Nathanael, we might have an “Aha!” moment where we realize who Jesus is and what he has done for us.  Perhaps we will begin to see other people differently, recognizing them as people for whom Christ died, rather than as people who might be annoying or different from us.  Perhaps we might begin to see people as God does and to share in God’s goal of reconciling all people to God and to one another.

    Truthfully, it is impossible to encounter Jesus the Saviour and remain exactly the same.  For, once God gives to us the gift of faith, God is also at work renewing our hearts and our minds, and helping us to leave our pre-conceived ideas behind as we are surprised again and again by the new things that God has in mind.

    And so, come and you will see.  Invite others to come and see.  For God comes to us through Jesus Christ, the link between heaven and earth, and allows us to see even greater things by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Epiphany 2(B)                            John 1:43-51
January 15, 2012                            Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2012 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved