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.

Last Friday after the Epiphany 2021

John 1:35-42 (NRSV)

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

Come and see! It's just that simple. There are no problematic hoops to jump through, no pre-requirements, no physical exam, no test to take, and nothing to do but come and see. We sometimes forget how simple Jesus' invitation is. 

In today's reading, John the Baptizer has just claimed that Jesus was the "Lamb of God." Andrew and another disciple of John heard John say this and immediately followed Jesus. When Jesus saw them following, he simply asked, "what are you looking for." After Andrew and the other disciple asked where Jesus was staying, Jesus told them to come and see. In the church, we have brought this simple invitation further into the Episcopal Church's catechumenate process. Admission to the catechumenate begins with the question, "what do you seek?" and the response is "Life in Christ."

What strikes me is how "different" this call story is compared to the synoptic gospels. In Matthew, Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22), and in Luke, Jesus is standing beside the lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1-11). One thing for sure is that Andrew was a fisherman, and so was his brother Simon. In John's account, Andrew is responsible for bringing his brother Simon to Jesus. 

Then comes one of my favorite parts, probably because I like "nicknames." Nicknames are terms of endearment that we bestow on others (family and friends) that we care about. After knowing Simon all of 2 minutes, Jesus calls him Cephas or Petros (Peter), which is basically calling him Rock or Rocky (I'm wondering what Dwayne Johnson and Sylvester Stallone think about that). The term means something substantial here because he recognizes Peter as a dependable person, grounded... one on which he will build his ekklesia (community or church). But it all started with the simple invitation to "come and see." I also suggest that the invitation didn't go to Simon (or Peter), but it went to Andrew, his brother. His brother, Andrew, went and brought Simon to Jesus and said to him, "we have found the anointed."

God calls us through many different avenues at many different times (not just 4pm). It comes through sisters and brothers, family and friends... and the invitation is always simple, "come and see." Experience what the ekklesia has to offer, see what purpose it might give to your life. Lent is a time of connection and reconnection. This is how we are connected in the community of believers, and it is the way we can connect with others. Who have you asked recently to "come and see" what life in Christ is all about?