Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels
Before us today in the Gospel reading are three very interesting figures. Three figures we can learn from.
First, there is Phillip. “Follow me,” Jesus commands. And Phillip does. That sounds so simple. Jesus is the Messiah. The Son of God. King of Israel. The Lamb of God. Rabbi. Phillip got all this. So, when Jesus hailed him, he followed.
But it turns out that following Jesus isn’t like padding around behind a tour guide at an art exhibit. Following Jesus is no passive affair.
Phillip encounters Nathaniel. And when he comes upon Nathaniel, he has a decision to make. Does he just walk on by? That would make sense. “Following Jesus” would seem to be enough. After all, there are parables to decipher. Beyond that, wrapping your brain around the fact that this guy from Nazareth is the Son of God is kind of a lot. Oh, and then there is this whole business about how Jesus (the Messiah) is going to die and then rise on the third day. Just following Jesus is a lot. I could totally see Phillip taking a pass as walks by Nathaniel.
But he doesn’t. Instead, he pauses. He takes the time to hail Nathaniel. More than that, he proclaims to Nathaniel: “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote.”
Seriously? That’s how you greet this guy? You’re announcing to this guy, Nathaniel, that Jesus is the one Moses and the prophets talked about.
Are you nuts?
And the answer is, yes. If you’re going to follow Jesus, you actually are nuts. And that is a good thing. Lesson 1 from today’s Gospel text.
Nathaniel. If we read a few verses back from the selection for today, we learn something really important. Nathaniel had some awareness that Phillip was nuts. He wasn’t buying it—this Messiah thing. In response to Phillip’s bold claim that “we have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote,” Nathaniel responds this way: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
That’s trash talk.
We’ll get to the third figure and then talk about what we can learn from Nathaniel.
Figure 3: Jesus. As Nathaniel (trash-talk guy) approaches Jesus, Jesus says: “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathaniel has just trashed-talked not only Jesus but his home town. And Jesus praises him?
“In whom there is no deceit.” Interesting. Apparently, Jesus likes people who talk to him straight. He wants you to tell him the truth.
How are you feeling about him today? St. Augustine (Saint Augustine) had trouble with the incarnation. Do you? If you do (who doesn’t?), he can take it. He did die on a cross for us low-lifes. So, probably a little skepticism on our part now and again doesn’t throw him off his Kingdom game.
Jesus embraces this doubter, Nathaniel. More than that, he praises this guy for being the kind of guy who can’t traffic in deceit.
Lesson 2: We’re Nathaniel. Maybe today, maybe not today. But now and again the whole incarnation thing is a challenge. Son of Joseph. From Nazareth. Just a guy. He’s the Messiah.
Oh, and then there is the thing about him dying. Not super Messiah-like. We’re Nathaniel, or at least I am, now and again. More often then I’d like to admit.
Lesson 3: Jesus can handle our doubt. He actually kind of likes it, apparently. He likes it when we’re honest. When we take the risk of telling him what we’re really thinking. When we confess that we are not who we wish we were, spiritually. It beats the hell out of posturing as if we we’re righteous.
Lord Jesus, your grace knows no bounds. And that’s a really good thing because I come up short. All the time.