Come and see

Nothing Good

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever been made to feel uncomfortable about your hometown or home state? Perhaps it has a questionable reputation or a funny name (I’m looking at you, Intercourse, PA) that makes it easy for people to joke about. When I was a student at Penn State, being from New Jersey often felt that way. There was a Saturday Night Live skit that was popular at the time, where Joe Piscapo would say, “I’m fruhm Joisey! Are you fruhm Joisey, too?” and I heard that a lot. Then I would be asked what Turnpike exit I lived near, as though New Jersey was just a turnpike for the real people to traverse as they traveled to more interesting places. As if!

I wonder if Jesus felt that way, being from Nazareth.

John 1 (Common English Bible)

43 The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”

46 Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”

Nazareth is the place where Jesus grew up, and was a small, nondescript town with a population of about 200-400 people. Nathanael’s derogatory remark reveals his own prejudice about this little nothing of a place. Nazareth was southwest of the Sea of Galilee, located north of Jerusalem, well beyond Samaria. Being so small, and not adjacent to major cities, it was the last place one would expect anything interesting to happen. I suppose that calling someone a “Nazarene” would have been like referring to them as a “bumpkin,” or even a “hillbilly.”

Nathanael’s question is pretty sarcastic. He assumes that Nazareth couldn’t produce anything of worth, let alone the Messiah.

But notice this: Philip’s response was not to rebuke Nathanael, but simply to invite. 

Philip said, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel.”

50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! 51 I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up to heaven and down to earth on the Human One.

There is much to be learned from Philip’s response. What a beautiful example of how to witness to a skeptic! He doesn’t argue, he simple invites. Being invitational when it comes to sharing the Gospel is the best way, I believe. Bible-thumping, loud proclamations, self-righteous posts, and every other presentation that excludes those who haven’t yet heard or are filled with doubt is not the way to win others to Christ.

Philip chose wisely in this conversation, and so should we. How can you be winsome and invitational in your own speech? Jesus invites us to follow him. May we invite others in the same way.

Come and see!

Come and See by Kathy Schumacher

Come and See

Posted on by Betsy

The images still haunt us. A healthy, young, 24-year-old athlete lay dead on the football field. Players who surrounded him were weeping. An ambulance drove across the grass as an athletic trainer performed CPR for nearly 10 minutes. An AED was used to shock the young man’s heart back into life. Oxygen was administered. When he was finally stabilized enough for transport, he was taken to the ICU of the nearest hospital, which happened to be only two miles away. Today, Damar Hamlin is recovering and making tremendous strides. He is breathing on his own and talking. Thanks be to God!

This morning I read a thread on Twitter from a hospital chaplain asking that people not label this as a “miracle.” His reasoning is that by labeling everyday medical procedures as miracles “we end up with people who deny its legitimacy.” A doctor retweeted it and gave a lengthy explanation of all the step-by-step medical science that was the reason for Hamlin’s recovery, calling each step a miracle. I have to say I’m with the doc on this one. The doctor saw what the chaplain couldn’t. God was with Hamlin every step of the way. Life after death is a miracle. I don’t care what avenues of medical science God uses … he is still the author of all life who performs miracles every day. Who’s with me on this?

Today’s lectionary passage is all about people seeing for themselves. Jesus invites us all to “come and see.”

John 1 (The Message)

29-31 The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’ I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

32-34 John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

Come, See for Yourself

35-36 The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.”

37-38 The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”

I believe miracles are happening all around us every day. From the profound to the ordinary, God is present. Here is an example from the mundane: my husband and I drove 12 hours on I-95 through four states a few days ago and never once slowed down. If you’ve ever driven that route, you know that was a miracle!

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.

40-42 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”).

Finding the Messiah in the ordinary is miraculous. Receiving grace and compassion from a stranger is a miracle. God sending his son to forgive the sins of the world was the best miracle of all. You have the opportunity to come and see this Passover Lamb for yourself and then invite others.

Come and see!

The Power of Prayer photo by the New York Times via Facebook