January 18, 2009

Jesus Finds Us So We Can Go Find Others

John 1:43-51

Epiphany 2 – January 18, 2009

Way back in the fall of 2003, I had just started my first term at seminary. And while I was adjusting to a new life in a new place, readjusting to life as a student, about 2 weeks into the term, a new friend invited me to go out with her and a few other people to explore our new city & blow off some steam. I agreed, eager to just relax and enjoy myself, but little did I know how that one night would change my life.

Because, you see, that's the night I met my husband, Andy. Well, that's not entirely true, because Trinity Lutheran Seminary is a small school, & Andy & I had already met. But we'd never had a chance to talk before. Within minutes though, we were finishing each other's sentences, laughing at the same things, discovering thing after thing that we had in common. I won't say it was love at first site, but sparks were flying & I knew that there was something special going on.

And so, when the night was over, what did I do? I rushed straight to my dorm room & picked up the phone. It was probably almost 2 in the morning, but I couldn't stop myself from calling up my best friend to tell him all about this man I had met. I was so full of excitement and anticipation – there was something special about this one, and I had to share my feelings, I had to let somebody know NOW or I felt like I was gonna explode!

Philip experienced something similar when he met Jesus for the first time John tells us that Jesus had come into the region of Galilee, and there he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” That's it, nothing more, at least nothing that the author of John tells us about. And we don't know what went on in those moments, but somehow, Philip knew that there is something special about this one. He's way more sure than I was after my first conversation with Andy! Philip knows that this man Jesus is the one! This is the one they've all be waiting for! This is the Messiah, the one sent to save them! And Philip can't keep it to himself! Just like a person falling in love, Philip rushes off to tell his friend Nathanael the good news!

“We have found him! We've found the one Moses wrote about in the law, the one the prophets were talking about! We've found him – it's Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth!”

And then we have Nathanael's response. It must have hit excited Philip like a bucket of cold water. As enthused as Philip is, Nathanael is the opposite. He is cool, and questioning, and skeptical. “He's from where?! Nazareth? You've gotta be kiddin' me! Can anything good come from there?”

It's the very type of reaction that most of us fear when it comes to talking about our faith. The world around us is filled with people who are hurting, people who feel hopeless, people who are looking for somewhere to turn, a meaning for it all beyond themselves. And those of us who know we have been found by Jesus (and if you're not in that category, don't worry, we'll get to that too...) - those of us who know Jesus has found us, who know that this man is something special, who know that this Jesus is the One, the one who has changed us, the one who sets us free – well, all too often, we're afraid to say anything to the people we meet who we know need the love of Jesus. We are afraid – that the Nathanaels of the world will ridicule us or reject us or just meet our enthusiasm with skepticism. Because we know that so many in our world do not trust religion, do not trust the church either as an institution or as the individual people who represent it (sometimes for good reason), we know we may face questions like the one Nathanael asked: Can anything good come from religion? Can anything good come from the church? Can anything good come from following Jesus?

Or maybe you are here this morning feeling more like a Nathanael than a Philip. Maybe you've never had the experience of finding the one who has found you, like Philip did. Maybe don't really know this Jesus we keep talking about or have a hard time believing that he was sent here to earth by God to find you, so that you could know how much you are loved. Maybe you are wondering why you even bothered to come here today, asking along with Nathanael, “Can anything good come from this?”

If that sounds like you, then to you I say what Philip said to Nathanael. “Come & see.” Three little words, but an invitation with the power to change your life. Come & see. Come with your questions, with your doubts, with your skepticism. Come, even though you're not sure why, come and see Jesus for yourself. Come here to this church or some other church and experience God's love among God's people, hear it in the word of God spoken in the Bible, feel it in the music that we sing and the food that we share!

And don't stop there! Come & see Jesus & bring him all that you are. You don't have to have all the answers, you don't have to be sure before you come – Jesus is okay with that. See how he reacted to Nathanael? In all of this 1st chapter of John, this is the longest conversation Jesus has with anyone. To the one who has questions and curiosity, the one who is most uncertain, Jesus gives the most time. And Nathanael is amazed, because Jesus seems to know him, to really know him. Hear the promise Jesus speaks to him, and to us – “You will see greater things than these! You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Jesus is the one who brings God's kingdom near, he is the one who makes God known to us all, the God of mercy and forgiveness and love. Come and see for yourself & then hear him say, “Follow me!”

And you too, Philips, hear Jesus' call to you, “follow me!” Follow him & fall in love all over again. Follow him & get to know him, spend time with him in worship and prayer and reading your Bible, because that love can only grow deeper with time. Let yourself be found by him again, and then go, like Philip, and find others. Find someone who needs to be found & share the good news that you have been found by the One gives meaning to live, the One who changes everything. It's simple. Just invite them to come and see.

Amen.