This is the sermon I preached on 1/14 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text is John 1:43-51.
The other day I was in the grocery store. I noticed a couple wearing Bills regalia and decided to say to them, “Go Bills.” They smiled and responded in kind, “Go Bills.” Because they identified themselves as fans, we were able to identify each other and greet each other as fans. They displayed their identity and I saw it. I wonder how often we display our faith, not so much by t shirts and colors as by our actions. Others can then see Jesus in us.
Sight is key in John’s gospel. In fact, the number of times it’s coupled with “come” is impressive. We hear “Come and see:”
A) When Jesus begins his ministry
B) When the woman at the well returns to her hometown to invite others.
C) When they bring Jesus to Lazarus' tomb
D) When they find Jesus on the cross
E) When they come to the empty tomb.
Today's gospel passage is found at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. We use the words “to see” in different ways. “I see” can be a child’s excited outburst when playing with friends, meaning he or she found something. It can be just that, the actual, literal seeing of something. But there is another meaning as well—to understand, as in a deep conversation between people when one responds, “I see.”
This is true as well in the gospel writer’s uses of “to see.” John typically has both meanings in mind in his writing. At face value, it may mean physically seeing something, but with an additional one that is more mystical. For example, Jesus answers Nathanael, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” That word “saw” is obviously loaded, so much so that Nathanael’s response was a confession of faith in Jesus. That was a pretty big “saw” if Jesus had only seen Nathanael with his eyes.
Jesus responds to Nathanael’s faith, “You [Nathanael] shall see greater things than these. Ù Ù you [all of you] will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (1:50-51) (Craig R. Koester, digitalcommons.lutherseminary.edu). Wow. I can’t help but wonder what Nathanael thought when he heard that. Those were the kinds of words used to talk about the end times, when Jesus shall return in power and glory. For a Jewish person, it would mean the messiah had come.
“Heaven opened,” there would be no closure or distance between heaven and earth. “Jesus refers to the story of ‘Jacob's Ladder,’ a dream that Jacob had when he saw angels going up and coming down a ladder from heaven. (See Genesis 28:10-22)… The story of Jacob's dream led to the naming of a sacred PLACE, [but] Jesus says this same vision will show Nathaniel a sacred PERSON…
John wants us to SEE Jesus, to COME to him, and thereby to receive LIFE in its abundance.” (David Ewart, holytextures.com)
Sometimes we see a movie that wows us and we rush to tell others about it.
We want them to go see it for themselves so they may share the experience we had. This is what happens in John 1:35-51.
One disciple after another encounters Jesus and has a transformative experience that leads him to tell others, so they too will “come and see” this man from Galilee and be changed by that experience. In John, the way the community of disciples grows is more like the “sleeper hit” whose box office success results from “word of mouth” than from a well-funded advertising blitz. (Gilberto Ruiz, workingpreacher.org)
So what does this have to do with us? I’m not trying to scare anyone, but look around. Think about those who have died just this year and other years. What will St. Timothy look like in a few years if this continues? We certainly cannot stop people from dying, as much as we may want to.
I am not suggesting that we need to stand on street corners holding large “come to Jesus” signs. In our gospel, how was the good news spread? Philip told Nathanael, “We have found him…Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Philip said, “Come and see.”
Philip did not keep the news bottled up inside him. Neither should we. He then took it one step farther by inviting Nathanael. That’s how the church grows. That’s how St. Timothy maintains its witness here. If you talk to virtually anyone that’s here now, it is because someone told them about this church and invited them to come.
Jesus saw you, loved you and called you to himself in holy baptism. “Children of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”
By your word, eternal God, your creation sprang forth, and we were given the breath of life. By your word, eternal God, death is overcome, Christ is raised from the tomb, and we are given new life in the power of your Spirit. May we boldly proclaim this good news in our words and our deeds, rejoicing always in your powerful presence; through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.
Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Worship)
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