Sermon on John 1.43-51

The Rev. Joseph Peters-Mathews

January 14, 2017

St. Joseph-St. John, Lakewood

Epiphany 2, B

John 1.43-51

I don’t know what to say this week.

The annual meeting is right after this,

            and Jesus calls to Philip

            and Nathanael and us,

                        “Follow me.”

We’ve also got Philip saying,

            “We have found him

about whom Moses in the law

and also the prophets wrote,

Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.

How does Nathanael reply?

He asks,

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

[Sigh]

That sounds a lot like

            A comment the President made this week,

                        doesn’t it?

The sentiment sounds the same.

A temptation is to let the comparison  

            stand on its own.

Giving in to that temptation

            is giving in to white supremacist rhetoric.

Nathanael may have thought

            that Nazareth wasn’t anything

            but that doesn’t make it nothing

                        even if it was in the back woods.

It’s where Jesus,

            the savior of creation,

                        grew up poor.

Jesus changed the world,

            just like the people of Haiti.

I couldn’t get in this pulpit

            and not mention the analogous comparison.

But saying anything more about it

            isn't the sermon that I

am called to preach to you

            today.

And I tried to write one.

When Nathanael dismisses Jesus

            simply because he is from Nazareth

                        Philip replies to “Can anything good?”

                                    with “Come and see.”

What Nathanael finds is

            a man who essentially

has done a magic trick.

Jesus says, “I saw you sitting under the fig tree.”

Jesus knew where Nathanael was,

            and that’s all it takes to convince him

                        that Jesus is the son of God,

                                    the king of Israel.

I’m with Jesus:

            that's a pretty low bar.

Despite Nathanael’s dismissing Nazareth,

            Jesus doesn’t dismiss Nathanael.

Jesus says,

            “You will see greater things than these.”

From what we know of Nathanael,

            he does what Philip does at the beginning of this passage.

He follows Jesus.

This short passage

is part of John’s Gospel

                        where Jesus is assembling

his core group of disciples.

Some of them

were followers of John the Baptizer.

Others he recruits along the way

            and convinces to follow him by his teaching.

They seek out new people to follow Jesus

            because they are convinced

                        that Jesus is the one written about

                                    in the law and the prophets.

This is only John Chapter 1

            and Philip is evangelizing —

                        sharing the Good News with —

                                    Nathanael.

From John’s disciples,

            to those he invites,

                        to those they invite

and Jesus persuades,

            the number of Jesus’ followers grows.

Jesus says,

            “Follow me” then

                        “You will see greater things than these.”

Our annual meeting is today,

            and I think more clearly that ever

                        Jesus is saying,

                                    “Follow me.”

Jesus the living Christ

has made all things new.

There are some new announcements

we’ll get at the annual meeting in a bit

            including some new Bishops Committee members.

I hope.

Following Jesus who has made all things new

            requires as I talked about last week

                        dying to old habits,

                                    including habits of clinging to things.

It means trying new things

            with new people.

It means being like Philip,

            and telling those we encounter

                        the Good News of Jesus.

It means saying,

            “Come and see”

                        about how you’ve known new life in Christ

                                    at St. Joseph-St. John.

When Philip and Nathanael follow Jesus

            he promises them,

                        “You will see greater things than these”

They leave their immediate families.

They quit their jobs.

They risk their social standing and even their lives

            to follow Jesus.

“You will see greater things than these.”

This assurance of Jesus is ours too,

            but we have to take risks —

                        personally and as a body.

One risk Episcopalians are scared to take, often,

            is inviting someone to church with them.

The Season after the Epiphany,

            has historically been a season about evangelism.

This has been a few weeks of focusing

            on sharing the Good News of the incarnate Christ

                        salvation made available to all

If you have someone in mind

            to invite for next week,

                        don’t hesitate.

But if you’ve got some trouble,

            some anxiety with that risk…

                        if you’re not quite comfortable saying

                                    “Come and see” like Philip…

            spend some time in prayer and discernment.

Think about who might need to be reunited

with the church,

            with our church or any church.

Think about who might need to hear

            that their sins are forgiven.

Think about who might need to be reminded

            that they are dust, and to dust they will return.

Spend this next month

            wondering who you might invite

                        to our one Ashes to Stay service

                                    after Community Dinner on February 14.

Jesus tells Philip, “Follow me.”

Philip tells Nathanael,

            “Come and see.”

Jesus tells Nathanael and us,

            “You will see greater things than these.”

Let’s take the risks.

Let’s follow Jesus.