0114 Reflection -- John 1:43-51

Sunday 14 January 2018
         The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

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John 1:43-51 (NRSV)
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 toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get 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.”

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I can't help but think that if this moment were lived out among us today, among this parish family specifically, that the response would be anything less than "Can anything good come out of Wilkes-Barre?" If we think of this honest reality, suddenly Nathanael makes more sense to us. Nathanael can't fathom what he is hearing about Messiah and Nazareth. These two things simply don't go together. As a good Jew, he knew well that the Messiah was foretold to come through a much different place, specifically Bethlehem. And as a good Jew, on it's own merits, Nazareth was not a desireable place.

All of Nathanael's judgments fade away in the experience of Jesus, to whom he is brought in disbelief, in the shock of being known by Jesus. How does Jesus know him? How can Jesus say the things about him that he has just heard? There is only one logical answer. In spite of his connection to Nazareth, this truly is the Messiah, and the message he initially doubted is true.

Are we willing to be shocked like Nathanael? Better yet, as this should be a "Preaching to the Choir" moment, are we willing to be bold like Philip who sought out Nathanael and who responded to doubt with the invitation to come and see? The greatest and most effective means of passing on the faith is simply one person sharing with another, and inviting the other to come and see. We try so hard to make it more complicated than that. And let's be honest; the reason we do so is usually to give ourselves an "out" on grounds that we simply cannot do such a difficult task. This Gospel reminds us that it's not that difficult. But it does challenge us to lay aside our desire to keep our dirty little secret, our faith, to ourselves.

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                                          Fr. Timothy Alleman