+In Nomine Iesu+
Epiphany 2
St John 1:43-51
18 January 2009
You expect special things from certain places, dont
you? Important things. Important people. Washington, D.C.
is like that. There are certain expectations for
Washington. Big doings there soon. A new president.
Enough inaugural balls to choke a substantial horse. Big
things are, and will be expected from Washington.
<>
London is like that, too. Trafalgar Square. Parliament
Hill. Buckingham Palace. The Queen lives there. Many
queens have. Many kings, too. Important people, kings and
queens. You expect certain things from a London.
Important, significant things.
<>
But how about Fosston? Any great expectations for
Fosston? There are no presidents here. No kings or queens
either. Im not sure any world famous person has ever
come from Fosston. Or that anything happening in Fosston
has ever made the world news. The expectations dont seem
very high, do they?
<>
Thats how it was with Nazareth. A one-donkey-town.
Not mentioned even once in all of the Old Testament.
Nathaniel knew that. Thus his answer to Philips
statement of, We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law
and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of
Joseph. Nathaniel knew his Bible. Can anything good
come out of Nazareth?
<>
Theres almost a sneer in his voice, isnt there.
After all, Philip had disturbed him. Intruded on his
concentration. Hed been sitting under a fig tree.
Sitting there probably lost in thought. Reading,
perhaps. Maybe, reading Moses and the prophets.
Meditating. And then came the Philips interruption.
<>
But Philip doesnt try to argue the point. He simply
says, Come and see. And you know, I suspect there was
a certain amount of grumbling as Nathaniel unfolded himself
and got up from under his fig tree. He went, but not with
high expectations.
<>
Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no
deceit. Thats how Jesus greeted Nathaniel. And I
wonder if there wasnt at least the hint of a smile of
Jesus face. Nathaniel is taken aback. How do you
know me? In other words, What do you know about
me? And Jesus reply? Before Philip called you,
when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. O yes,
Jesus knows him, alright!
<>
No hiding now. Nathaniel has been found out. He is
known. And not only does he realize that he realizes
the significance of that fact. Rabbi, (teacher) he
blurts out. Its as if Nathaniel is thinking, O
brother, Philip was right! But the words come out this
way, You are the Son of God. You are the King of
Israel!
<>
Now, what about us? Were back here in Fosston,
arent we. Any chance Jesus has seen us? Seen us under
our fig tree?
<>
Hold it, pastor. Im not following you. What are
you getting at? Under what fig trees do you sit? Under
what fig tree do you wrestle with the things of life?
Anyone ever laid awake long into the night pondering
seemingly unsolvable problems? Problems you couldnt see
your way out of? Problems you had to face, but didnt
know how you would? Or, how about sitting beside a hospital
bed feeling absolutely hopeless? Hopeless, and very alone?
Wondering what would happen next, and how you would be able
to live with whatever it was. Those are examples of our fig
trees. Fig trees that we sit under, even when we dont
want to.
<>
Thats what Im talking about. Waiting for a phone
call, perhaps. Desperate to know. And yet very fearful of
knowing. Going to work dreading the meeting your boss wants
to have. Walking to the mailbox hoping its empty. The
doctors appointment you can no longer avoid. The biopsy
results. The blood test results.
<>
There are lots of fig trees in our lives. Brooding.
Wondering. Worrying. Praying. If, indeed, we can call our
confused babbling prayer. Does Jesus see us? And, if He
does does He care about us? Can anything good come out
of Nazareth? Sometimes that question forces its way even
into our minds. In that were just like Nathaniel. And
the corollary is this. If something good can come out of
Nazareth, is He interested in anything that comes out of
Fosston?
<>
Lets answer the question this way. Who created you?
Who made you? God did. More specifically, according to St
John, Jesus created you. Created you out of nothing. He
didnt ask if you wanted to be created He just did it.
Thats the beginning of the answer. You live because
Jesus wanted it that way. Jesus wanted it. Jesus fully
intended that you be you.
<>
Now, what do you think? Would Jesus have gone to the
effort of creating you just to plop you down somewhere
Fosston, for instance and then forget about you? Just
walk away? Isaiah addresses this. God speaks through His
prophet. Can a woman forget her nursing child that she
should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even
these may forget, yet I will not forget you. (Is. 49)
Remember those words, my friends. Remember them, because
they reveal Gods attitude toward you.
<>
But someone might be thinking, Well, pastor, thats
all fine for the good people. But Im not good.
Not good at all. Sometimes my sins haunt me. They creep
into my mind on little cats feet during the night. I
cant make the memory of them go away.
<>
Of course you cant make them go away. It is Satan who
waves those sins in front of your eyes. Hes an expert at
that. An expert on destroying things. Destroying life.
<>
But someone greater than Satan has come. Indeed, come
from Nazareth. And now we are at the second part of our
answer. Not only has Jesus created you because He wants you
to live He also forgives you for exactly the same
reason. Jesus forgives you so that you can live. So that
you can live now, and forever. Remember His words? The
Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. (Lk 19)
Thats you. Lost. Because of our sins, were lost.
Our sins have separated us from God. And we are incapable
of bringing our self back to God. Our sinful nature always
places us in opposition to God. All we can offer to God is
our repentance, and our plea for mercy. Every one of us is
sitting under a fig tree of one desperate kind or another.
<>
Youll remember that in our text Nathaniel referred to
Jesus as the Son of God. In His answer, Jesus called
himself the Son of Man. Which do you prefer? Odd
question, isnt it? But think. Son of the Most High
God Who Dwells in Inaccessible Light. Or, Son of
Man. One who shares our flesh and blood. One who looks
like us. Hurts like us. Cries like us. Bleeds like us.
Dies like us. Which do you prefer? Theyre the same, you
know. The Son of God is the Son of Man. But by choosing to
describe himself in terms of our existence Jesus places
himself close to us. He places Himself in our skin.
<>
Jesus says, Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see
heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and
descending on the Son of Man. Thats a reference to
His crucifixion. There the heavens were opened. It is in
the crucifixion of Jesus that we see most clearly the glory
of God. There His glory is most clearly revealed, because
there His mercy His pity for mankind sweeps over the
earth. In His suffering and death Jesus is revealed as the
sin-bearer. Your sin-bearer. In His death Jesus is
revealed as your salvation. Your forgiveness.
<>
But not only at the crucifixion does this revelation take
place. Not only at the crucifixion are the heavens torn
open. It happens here, too. It happens now. What do you
hear Jesus say today? Take, eat, this is My body, given
for you. My blood, shed for you. Theres no escaping
Jesus intent. He is speaking first person singular
words. For you. Its as if you, alone, existed.
As if you, alone, needed Jesus forgiving mercy today.
And you have it!
<>
Jesus Son of Man, and Son of God comes down.
Descends from heaven. Descends to you. Having been created
by the purposeful act of God you are forgiven by an
equally purposeful act of God. United in His death through
Holy Baptism, you are now fed with His very Body and Blood
in the Holy Eucharist. And always for the same reason. For
the forgiveness of your sins.
<>
It was an interesting question that Nathaniel asked.
Can any good thing come from Nazareth? The answer, of
course, was yes. Yes, because Jesus came from
Nazareth.
<>
Now, lets change the question just a little. Can
any good thing come from Fosston? Again, the answer is
yes. Yes, because of you! You are good. Indeed, you
are holy and blameless. Holy and blameless because Jesus
the Son of Man has taken your sins from you. You
have been forgiven. Jesus has taken your sins and given you
His life. And that promise by the gift of the Holy
Spirit you have come to believe! Thats your
greatness. Your goodness. And for that the only
appropriate response is, Thanks be to God!
Amen
+Iesu Christus, Magnum Mysterium Caritas Dei+
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