Faithful friends, the following excerpt(s) from Debie Thomas’s essay on Journey with Jesus, on ‘seeing’, resonated for me in this season of Epiphany. Debie wrote her commentary on the readings for today three years ago – at a very challenging time. Just two days after the violent, seditious mob stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC – some carrying Christian signs and symbols into the building: “Jesus Saves”, “God, Guns & Guts Made America, let’s keep all three” …
This attack occurred at the incitement of America’s sitting president – an almost predictable outcome of a long and reckless disregard for the truth.
Debie lamented that she herself, along with the ‘progressive church’ in America, appear to simply disavow, then move on as if to ignore these views. Failing in their prophetic duty to represent the Jesus of love, hope and justice, allowing Christianity to be co-opted in violent and hateful ways that grieve the heart of God.
“This is what happens when a leader and his people desecrate reality. This is what happens when human beings worship falsehood for their own convenience and gain. I know that it has become a cliché to say we live in a post-truth society — as if “post-truth” is a viable option for our survival, going forward. But the fact is, it matters what our eyes see. It matters what we apprehend as the real, the genuine, and the faithful. When truth dies, people die, too.”
Epiphany is a season of light and revelation, a season of searching, discovering, finding, and knowing. I wonder what we can learn from the penetrating and grace-filled vision of God in these days. If Jesus were here right now, looking at what we’re looking at in the world today, what would he see?
In our reading from John’s Gospel, we encounter a sceptic named Nathanael who thinks he knows exactly who God is and how God operates. God’s Messiah, he is sure, can’t possibly come from a backwater town like Nazareth.
The lection begins with Jesus going to Galilee, finding Philip, and inviting him to “follow me”. Philip accepts the call without hesitation, and then, brimming with excitement, runs off to find his friend, Nathanael. He finds him sitting under a fig tree. “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth!” Philip tells Nathanael. But his friend under the fig tree isn’t impressed; his religious assumptions won’t allow him to see anything fresh or surprising in a simple carpenter from the wrong side of the tracks. Instead of arguing with Nathanael though, Philip simply tells his doubtful friend to “come and see”.
When Nathanael does so, he receives the shock of his life. As soon as he and Jesus see each other, before they exchange a single word, Jesus says, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” And, “I saw you under the fig tree.”
Immediately, Nathanael moves from doubt to faith, from ignorance to knowledge. He experiences an epiphany.
But this story at its core is not about what Nathanael sees; it’s about what Jesus sees. It’s a story about Jesus’s way of looking and seeing, and about what becomes possible when we dare to experience his gaze. In this story, what makes salvation possible is not what Nathanael sees in Jesus, but what Jesus sees in Nathanael.
Seeing, of course, is always selective. We have choices when it comes to what we see, what we prioritize, what we name, and what we call out in each other. The selves we present to the world are layered and messy, and it takes both love and patience to sift through those layers and find what lies at the core of who we each are. But there is great power in that sifting, too. Something healing, something holy, something life-changing happens to us when we are deeply seen, known, named, and accepted.
Note the words in today’s wonderful psalm: “O God you have searched me and you know me …..”
Jesus had a choice when it came to seeing Nathanael. I wonder what would have happened if, instead of calling out Nathanael’s purity of heart, Jesus had said, “Here is a cynic who is stunted by doubt,” or “Here is a man who is governed by prejudice,” or “Here is a man who is blunt and careless in his words,” or “Here is a man who sits around, passive and non-committal, waiting for life to happen to him.”
Any one of those things might have been true of Nathanael. But Jesus looked past them all to see an honesty, a guilelessness, a purity of thought and intention that made up the true core of Nathanael’s character. Maybe the other qualities were there as well, but would Nathanael’s heart have melted in wonder and joy if Jesus saw and named those first? Or would Nathanael have withdrawn in shame, fear, despair and embarrassment? Jesus named the quality he wanted to bless and cultivate in his would-be follower, the quality that made Nathanael a person of beauty, an image-bearer of God.
Is it possible for us to see our present moment as Jesus sees it? Instead of deciding that we know everything there is to know about the political “others” in our lives, can we ask God for fresh vision? Instead of assuming that “nothing good” can come of the cultural mess we find ourselves in, can we accept Philip’s invitation to “come and see”? What would happen if we left our comfortable vantage points, and dared to believe that, just maybe, we have been limited and hasty in our original certainties about each other, about God, and about the world? To “come and see” is to approach all of life with a grace-filled curiosity, to believe that we are holy mysteries to each other, worthy of further exploration. To come and see is to enter into the joy of being deeply seen and deeply known, and to have the very best that lies hidden within us called out and called forth.
Debie concludes, I write these words in hope. In fragile hope, but hope nonetheless. Not because we’re capable of clear vision on our own, but because we are held by the eternal promise of Jesus who said: “You will see greater things than these.”
We will. We will see heaven open. We will see angels. We will see the love and justice of God.
So don’t be afraid. Don’t hide. Don’t despair. Live boldly into the calling of Epiphany.
See. Name. Speak. Bless. God is near and God is speaking.
Christmas Time – a time of expectation; a time of joy and a time of wonder. A time of gifts – both giving and receiving. A time when we all celebrate and probably eat and drink far too much. But what are we expecting? What are we celebrating? How long does the joy and wonder last?
When I was a child, I remember waiting with excitement for Christmas Day to arrive. For the first five years of my life I lived in a small Welsh village: a place called by my Belfast-born mother “the last place that God put breath into and forgot to finish”. Times were hard in those days of the early 1950s. We weren’t poor, but money was not plentiful and, as it was for many children of my generation, presents were few and far between.
So waiting for Christmas was full of expectation – would Father Christmas arrive? Had he read my list of presents? Would I get some of them? Would I get any of them? For you had to be ‘good’ and well-behaved in those weeks leading up to Christmas if you were going to be rewarded. I’m not quite of the generation who says, “When I was young we were lucky to get a sock filled with an apple and an orange and a few nuts.” But many of my contemporaries were lucky to get one gift. I remember waking up on one Christmas morning to find a rocking cradle, with a fabric canopy, containing a very tall doll. She was lovely, with a sweet face and a beautiful blue dress. I absolutely adored her. I’m not sure how long I kept her – but probably she went to dolly heaven when her wig fell off some years later.
Now, you may be wondering what has all this wittering about my old memories got to do with a reflection on Christmas Eve. Where’s the message? For me it’s all about the value that we put on Christmas gifts today; not their monetary value, but their worth to us. Whether it was a mandarin, a packet of sweets or a lovely big doll – in times gone by, people did not get many presents, so they really valued and respected what they were given – even handkerchiefs or socks! As our society, certainly in the western world, has grown more affluent – we get presents at many times during the year. Bryan and I find it quite difficult to buy each other presents for Christmas because if we need something, and we can afford it, we buy it there and then. We don’t wait until Christmas.
How many Christmas presents these days, especially for children, end up being discarded by Boxing Day or even broken by the end of the week? How many of us receive toiletries that we put into a drawer for ‘special’ as the packaging is so nice, and then forget that the items are there, until we open the drawer twelve months later. It is amazing how many ‘Gifts for Mothers’ are in fact last year’s Christmas or birthday presents! And again, how many presents end up eventually at the Op Shop – not really needed, or something that the receiver didn’t like or couldn’t use?
Which brings me to the place where I ask the question – why are we celebrating Christmas? What is so important about giving and receiving presents? And therein lies the crux of the matter. According to the authorities found on the internet – we give presents in memory of the gifts that ‘the magi’ brought to Jesus. Also, apparently as Christianity replaced other older religions, the time chosen for celebrating Christmas was set at the same time as an old festival where presents were exchanged. But what about the greatest presents that God has given to us. He gave us so much more than gold, frankincense and myrrh. His first gift way back in time was giving life to the Universe and this planet that we find ourselves on; and then he gave his Son – knowing that this child would later be killed in a most horrible way. This Son who would live on earth as a human being and show us how we should act if we want to create a loving, peaceful world.
And how have we treated these gifts from God. Well, we only have to look around to see how we have broken the present of the earth – unfair use of resources, creating mountains of rubbish and discarded ‘presents’; destroying other species, fighting each other and being unspeakably cruel in order to increase our wealth and power. In the proportion of time that human beings have been on Earth, we’ve certainly ended up trashing that gift. And what about God’s Son, Jesus Christ, born to Mary; born as a saviour of the world? Mary certainly appreciated her gift. She was filled with joy. The shepherds were filled with joy; and many of us here will be filled with joy over this Christmas time. But do we make good use of this wonderful gift? Do we come to church (some people only at Christmas time), sing carols, listen carefully to the readings, share our prayers for the world with each other and enjoy the Christmas Story – and then forget about the gift by the end of the week? Do we place it in a drawer to be forgotten about until next year? Or do we continue to value it; to learn from it; to put into practice what the gift teaches us?
Because Jesus was not a one night or a one day wonder. He spent the days of his short time on earth teaching us how to create a society that was loving, a society that cared about everyone; a society in which fairness and justice were important. His message was simple. It doesn’t require learned theologians to interpret it – love God and love your neighbour, as yourself. The hard part is putting that into practice, but it is the only way for us to create a better world. And, in the end, in His death Jesus gave us the gift of eternal life.
I have to admit that I’m not sure what the form of that will be. What does eternal life look like? Feel like? But I’m not going to spend my life worrying about that, or trying to earn brownie points to achieve a passage to heaven. For me the message is all about how we create heaven, God’s Kingdom, here on earth. It’s only possible if we cherish the present of that first Christmas.
So, when we leave here tonight let’s look forward to a wonderful Christmas Day, enjoying the company of family and friends, or even the TV if we live alone. Let’s relish the Christmas baking and the celebratory drinks and watching people unwrap their gifts. Let’s laugh and rejoice. Let’s pray for those who are not so fortunate as us at this Christmas time. Let’s remember those loved ones who have left us or who are far away. BUT … let us also remember, not just tomorrow, not just until next week or next month, but at all times, that God gave us such a special gift; we should never forget that. Jesus is not a once-a-year plaything – Jesus is forever. So revere the gift, learn from the gift, love the gift and love one another at all times. That is the real spirit and joy of Christmas.
stfrancischurchtairuanz 