Today is a very stormy blizzard day and church was cancelled because the roads are closed. And so, I will miss seeing smiling faces and hugs from all. And so, I am sending this along to at least give you something to read while we are all storm-stayed!
When preparing this sermon I couldn’t help but notice something quite interesting. In our scripture reading from John, Jesus doesn’t really know where is going, but what he is doing is gathering the people together who he wants to take with him. Jesus called Peter and Andrew and the Philip who brought Nathaniel. He is calling them to come.
Have you ever been excited about a movie that you saw, or a concert that you attended, or trip you took. Sometimes we are so moved by something that we just can’t wait to tell someone about it. But have you ever noticed that when that happens and you try to tell someone about it, you can’t find the words that explain it so that it paints the picture for them that you saw! The words aren’t enough. You end up saying something like, “I wish you could have been there.” Or you’ll have to see it for yourself before you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”
It seems that Philip is saying this in today’s Gospel. Jesus has just called Philip to be one of his disciples and whatever happened in that experience must have been quite extraordinary because he goes straight to his friend Nathaniel and says “Nathaniel this is incredible.
You know the messiah that we’ve been talking about for so long. Well he is here and do you know who it is? It’s Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth. And so Nathaniel isn’t really impressed because he can’t believe that the messiah would come from a little hole in the wall place like that.
Nazareth was not a very important town in those days and certainly wasn’t a place that the Jews would think that the messiah would come from. But Philip is still enthusiastic and says, “Well my friend you’ll just have to come and see for yourself.”
What do we know about Nathaniel? He was a person who was hoping and searching. We know it because of the fig tree. At a time when people lived in one-room houses, we know that they often planted fig trees in front of their homes as a place to “get-away.”
A fig tree is about fifteen feet tall and its branches spread about 25 feet in width like an umbrella. It creates a space that is almost like a private room. If someone wanted to get away from the chaos of a one room house, he or she would sit under the fig tree. They would reflect and pray for God’s living presence.
This church doesn’t look like a fig tree, but isn’t that why we are here? To retreat from the business of the world around us so that we can read scripture, reflect and pray. We have a lot in common with Nathaniel.
Jesus saw into Nathaniel before he’d even met him and he liked what he saw. Nathaniel said to Jesus,” How do you know what I’m like.” And Jesus simply said that he saw him under the fig tree.
And that was enough for Nathaniel. He immediately accepted Jesus words and became a follower. He said to Jesus “you really are something special, you are the king of Israel.” To which Jesus answered, “Nathaniel, you need to stick with me my friend, because you haven’t seen anything yet!”
Jesus told Nathaniel that he “knew his heart.” His heart was captured. This is a wonderful expression because we know and understand what it feels like to have your heart captured. For example, holding your first child, falling in love, a heart that is captured by the view of a Lake or the mountains or the greatness and goodness of a person you admire.
Why did these disciples follow Jesus? What was so inspiring about Jesus? When someone met Jesus and listened to his words and accepted his teaching, it would seem that their lives would be transformed forever.
In those days, society taught them that they weren’t good enough, but Jesus told them that God loved them no matter what. The religious leaders in Jesus’ time told people they were unacceptable in God’s eyes, but Jesus taught them that God forgave them because he loves them.
Like these disciples in the Gospel, has your heart been captured by Jesus? Do others see Jesus at work in your life? Have you allowed Jesus and his teachings to touch your life in such a way that you would want to share that experience. We need to share this and ask people to come and see. A disciple of Christ is a person whose heart has been captured by the greatness and the goodness of Jesus Christ and invites others to come here and see.
The main theme of this scripture is to come and see … Come and see for yourself.
Here’s a personal example of this message.
We have been going to the Lake Huron shoreline for years. I was born in Owen Sound and spent time at Sauble Beach as a youngster. My husband and I vacationed at Sauble for years, we have a had a cottage there for 30 years.
Twenty years ago we moved back to this area from Burlington to live in Southampton. We are just a short walk away from those spectacular sunsets that dip down at the horizon just beyond the white caps; sitting in a lawn chair on the sand watching the waves and the soft winds blowing off the lake is a heavenly experience.
We live in the Grey-Bruce area by choice, because it has captured our hearts. We are always inviting people from the south to come and see because the words or pictures just don’t do it justice.
