Second Sunday after the Epiphany January 18, 2009 The Rev. Charles Henrickson
“Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth?” (John 1:43-51) The Holy Gospel for today, from John 1, takes place very early in Jesus’ public ministry, when he was first gathering his group of disciples. It’s the story of Philip and Nathanael, how they come to follow our Lord. Now today let their story become your story, as you too hear the call to follow Jesus and then you go out to share that good news with your friends and neighbors. Our story begins with Jesus finding Philip and saying to him, “Follow me.” Notice that: Jesus finds Philip. Just like, Jesus finds us. He seeks us out, even when we were not looking for him. Jesus says elsewhere, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” That’s where we were--lost, wandering aimlessly, not looking for God. And Jesus came and sought us out. He found us and brought his gospel near to us, placing his call upon our lives. Jesus calls us, even as he called Philip, “Follow me.” “Come on along and follow me,” Jesus says to each one of us. “Find out what you will discover on this adventure of faith. Follow me, learn from me, as my disciples. Grow in your knowledge and faith.” Jesus calls us to keep on following him, in a lifelong journey of faith. He leads the way, every step of the way, all the days of our life. “Follow me.” Hear the authority and, at the same time, the personal care in his voice. Jesus is calling you to be his disciple. How can you say no? He is speaking to you today. So Jesus finds Philip and calls him to follow. Now what does Philip do, how does he respond? The first thing he does is to find Nathanael and tell him what happened. Notice that: Jesus finds Philip, and then Philip finds Nathanael. And so it goes. Our Lord uses us as his instruments for inviting others, that they can hear Christ’s call to faith and discipleship. Today I want you to see yourself as a Philip. Jesus has found you and called you to follow him. That’s wonderful! It’s life-changing! That is the most important thing in your life. In fact, it is your life. Jesus finding you and saving you and leading the way for you day by day, all the way into eternal life--this is what life is all about. And what’s more, that new life doesn’t stop with you. Your changed life, your verbal witness, your faith evident in your life--this becomes a witness to others. You will be a Philip, “filled up” with the joy and excitement that comes from knowing the Lord. You cannot help but let it affect the way you speak and act and live. That’s how it was for Philip. He went and found someone he could share his joy with. He found Nathanael, apparently someone he knew or had some kind of relationship with. Excitedly, he tells Nathanael, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote.” In other words, Philip is telling his fellow Jew Nathanael, “We have found the Messiah.” The Messiah, the Christ, the promised deliverer, the one prophesied in the Scriptures, who will fulfill all the promises God made to our fathers--guess what, Nathanael? We have found him! We’ve met him! The Messiah has come! Notice, by the way, Philip says, “We have found him,” even though in reality it’s the other way around! It was Jesus who found Philip! Well, that’s all right. It’s really saying the same thing. From Philip’s perspective, this was a great discovery, and in his excitement he expresses it the best way he knows how, “We have found him, the Messiah.” What about you? Do you have the excitement and joy of a Philip? No? Maybe the excitement has worn off? Okay--although, you can reclaim at least some of that joy. Think of it this way: Think of where you would be without Jesus. You would be lost and hopeless and helpless and headed to hell. You would have no meaning, no purpose in life, no hope to sustain you. Blind and dead in our sins, enemies of God--that is our natural state. But now pause and consider where you are because of Jesus. All of your sins are forgiven. You are a dear child of your heavenly Father. You know what life is all about. You have a sure hope to carry you through all the trials and afflictions of this life. You have the word of God as your anchor and stay. You are headed toward heaven and eternal life with your Lord and with all his saints. My friends, this is surely good news! This is as good as it gets! If anything will put some excitement and joy into your life, this will. I can’t think of anything better. So, yes, you do have something to tell others about, something absolutely exciting and joyful. What have you found that you can tell others about? Or should I say, Whom have you found? I’m guessing that unless you’re talking to an orthodox Jew you probably won’t use the words, “him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote.” But maybe you’ll put it a different way. Like, “my Savior,” or “the Savior of the world.” The one who forgives my sins. The one who died for me, that I might live. The one who gives me eternal life as a free gift. Let me tell you about the one who puts me right with God, who gives meaning and purpose and hope to my life. He is the way and the truth and the life for everybody, you included. Whether he realized it at the time or not, that is what Philip is saying here, really, when he tells Nathanael, “We have found him.” Then Philip identifies this Messiah by name, “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” But notice Nathanael’s response: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Apparently Nathanael, as one well-versed in the Scriptures, knew that there was no particular prophecy linking the Messiah with the city of Nazareth. And beyond that, Nazareth may have carried some negative baggage for Nathanael. Maybe he didn’t think very highly of that town. We don’t know. But it does seem clear that the mention of Nazareth was an initial obstacle in Nathanael’s mind. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” You may encounter that sort of reaction when you tell others about what you’ve found here at St. Matthew Lutheran Church. People may say: “St. Matthew’s? Where’s that? Never heard of it.” “‘Luthern’? Is that like Martin Luther King or something?” “Church? No thanks. I don’t believe in organized religion.” St. Matthew . . . Lutheran . . . Church: Can anything good come from there? You see, this could be our own “Nazareth,” an initial obstacle in people’s minds that needs to be overcome. Maybe they have some negative preconceptions. So when you come along and tell them about all the good things you’re receiving at church, that this is where you find Jesus, their reaction may be, in effect, “Can anything good come out of St. Matthew Lutheran Church?” Now notice Philip’s reply to this problem that Nathanael has with Nazareth: “Come and see,” he says. That’s it. Just, “Come and see.” He doesn’t engage Nathanael in a prolonged argument about the merits of Nazareth. He doesn’t get sidetracked. He’s just pleasantly persistent, and he invites Nathanael to find out for himself. “Come and see.” Come and see if you do not encounter the Messiah, the one sent from God, in this person Jesus I want you to meet. So it is for us in our witness. Now of course, there are many specific things about our church that we can talk about, positive things, about various aspects of our congregation and our life together: the camaraderie and the fellowship we enjoy, the friendships and activities we experience. That’s all good. And we should talk about them. But ultimately, above all, when we talk about our church, we want to talk about the one who is the very heart and center of our church, the church’s whole reason for existence, and that’s Jesus. We want to point people to Jesus. The fact that people will meet their Savior here at St. Matthew Lutheran Church--that is what this church is all about. That’s why we invite people. We can cut through a lot of the fog and smokescreens and side issues when we point people to Jesus and invite them to meet him here at our church. Because this is where he is, this is where he can be found. The Lord Jesus Christ is here in his church, where his saving gospel is proclaimed, where his enlightening word is taught, where his life-giving sacraments are administered. This is where people will meet Jesus, their Savior, the author of life and the giver of salvation. So don’t be afraid or ashamed to invite your friends and neighbors, your family members--anyone who needs Jesus--invite them to “come and see,” to come and meet Christ here at St. Matthew’s. Well, Nathanael’s initial objection is overcome by Philip’s pleasant persistence and his clear invitation. Nathanael does come and he does see. In fact, Jesus sees Nathanael approaching and says, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael can tell that this Jesus somehow knows something about him, that he has divine insight into his soul. “How do you know me?” “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” This manifestation of divine knowledge sparks something in Nathanael. Jesus is quickening faith in his heart. Nathanael declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Nathanael confesses something here that was even truer than he may have realized at the time. Jesus is the very Son of God, come in the flesh. As the Son of God, he is the only one strong enough to save us from our desperate situation. As a man, come in the flesh, Jesus is able to take our place, both in keeping God’s law without sin and in taking the punishment the law pronounces upon sinners, namely, death under God’s judgment. Jesus died on the cross as our substitute, taking our sin and our death on himself, thus opening heaven and life eternal to us. And so Jesus not only is the king of Israel, he is the king who ushers in the everlasting and universal kingdom of heaven in our midst. “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” And Jesus replies: “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” Jesus here is telling Nathanael that he will see the divine power and blessing of God displayed in Jesus’ ministry time and time again. Not just that Jesus could see him under a fig tree. But that Jesus can heal the blind and the deaf, that he can cleanse lepers, that he can forgive sins, that he can raise the dead. Those are some of the great things that Nathanael will see in Jesus’ ministry. “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” In Christ, the kingdom of heaven comes down to earth. Heaven and earth meet in him. And this business about the angels of God ascending and descending? This recalls the story of Jacob’s ladder. Remember that? Jacob had a dream about a ladder running between heaven and earth. “And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” And Jacob called that place Beth-El, the “house of God,” the gate of heaven. Well, that’s what happens now in Jesus. He opens up heaven for us. His cross is our Jacob’s ladder. By his death on the cross, Jesus bridges the gap between us and God. Christ came down from heaven, for us men and for our salvation. By being lifted up on the cross, he raises us up from the depths of sin and death. And by his resurrection and ascension, he guarantees our own resurrection at the last day. The cross of Christ is our Jacob’s ladder. And the church is our Bethel, the house of God where we find Christ, where the cross of Christ is preached, and where heaven is opened to us. Heaven and earth meet here in God’s house, because Christ is present here. Indeed, in this Sacrament, at this altar, heaven and earth come together, and we receive a foretaste of the feast to come. Wide open stand the gates! Yes, Jesus Christ is here, present in our midst. He is here to open heaven for us. And at the same time, our Lord Jesus calls us to follow him in faith. “Follow me,” he says to each one of us. And so we follow, as he guides us out into the highways and byways of this life, where there will be people for us to talk to, people who, like us, need to hear the call of the Savior. And the Lord just might use our mouth to do the inviting! That’s how it went with Philip and Nathanael. Philip did the inviting, and then Jesus himself did the calling. Same thing today. Invite the folks you know to come and see, and then Jesus himself will call them through the gospel. “Can anything good come out of St. Matthew’s?” Oh, yes! Go out and tell. Come and see. Charles Henrickson 4749 Melissa Jo Ln St. Louis, MO 63128 (314) 845-8811 (home) (314) 779-8108 (cell) [email protected] ___________________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_ _attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. 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