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.
