Last Saturday after the Epiphany 2021

John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

Today we hear of Jesus calling Philip (who was a contemporary of Andrew and Peter who we met yesterday), from Bethsaida, a small fishing village on the shore of the sea of Galilee. It was there that Jesus told Philip, “follow me,” and Philip then found Nathanial. Nathanial comes off as uninterested in this man Jesus from Nazareth, and even asks Philip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” 

In our reading context matters! Culturally, those familiar with the time and place would know that Nazareth was considered the equivalent to being on the “wrong side of the tracks.” Surely this would not a place for a messianic teacher to be from. But Philip’s invitation was simple “come & see.” This was the invitation that Jesus extended to Andrew in yesterday's reading.

Nonetheless, possibly reluctantly, Nathaniel goes to Jesus, and Jesus identifies him immediately as an “Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” In turn, Nathanial immediately identifies Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel. Jesus then tells Nathaniel, something of the equivalent, "you haven’t seen anything yet."

In this interaction, Jesus calls Philip and Philip turns around and calls or invites Nathaniel. It reminds us again that sometimes, in our travels, we depend on others to help show us the way. Over the past couple of days, we've revisited the call stories of the first disciples from the gospel according to John. John seems to be stressing invitation and response and makes a big deal about those who Jesus calls indirectly that seem to play a big part in the story. 

Andrew called Simeon (called Peter or Cephas) and Jesus declared Peter to be a person of strength. Philip calls Nathaniel and Jesus declares that he is of good character. The call to action that I see today is Jesus/God doing the evaluation. Not us. It's often said that God doesn't call the qualified, God qualifies the called. Our job is to invite into the way of Jesus and let Jesus do the qualifying. When we do, we will see greater things than these.

Mark 1:14-28 (NRSV)

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.' As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you fish for people.' And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 'What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.' But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be silent, and come out of him!' And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, 'What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.' At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

In the context of all the information in this passage, I hear the word “called.” Jesus immediately calls James and his brother John, and they left their father Zebedee and followed him. It is interesting to me that the call narrative is in the middle of Jesus returning to Galilee, and then going into the synagogue to teach and perform an exorcism.

Keeping with the fast pace at which Mark tells us the good news, Jesus is on the move. He returns with a message of good news for the people, he secures some assistance in his mission, and then proceeds to teach in the synagogue. While he is in the synagogue, he encounters an unclean spirit that knows him. He calls out the unclean spirit, and amazes the crowd with the first miracle in the Gospel of Mark. Word about him spreads as quickly as Mark’s story unfolds.

There is an urgency to Mark’s telling of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He gets to the point and teaches in high context language, meaning that the hearers would be able to put together the story very easily in their situations. Mark uses language and forms of telling the story that his hearers would understand.

The call that I hear today is “follow.” When Jesus calls, the disciples follow to see where he leads. If we follow Jesus, especially through the scriptures, we see him do some amazing things. In the season of Lent, we follow Jesus through the desert that that we can experience a wilderness period of self examination and awareness. This lets us root up and deal with our demons and reminds us of our dependence on God.