The Sermon uses scriptures Samuel 3:1-10 and John 1:43-51. It was preached on January 14, 2018 at Red Spring Presbyterian in Red Springs, NC.
Invitation
to Witness
When I began looking at the scriptures for today,
I had a couple of questions…
First, how do these scriptures relate to the season of
Epiphany?
And what do we know about Philip and Nathanael,
some of
the lesser known apostles?
Andrew and Philip were originally disciples of John
the Baptist;
Philip was likely a
fisherman like Andrew and Peter.
Both Andrew and Philip introduced others to Jesus;
some scholars believe
this Philip is the same Philip
mentioned
in Acts, the one who led the
Ethiopian eunuch
to Christ.
Nathanael is only mentioned in John’s gospel,
in the synoptic
gospels he is known as Bartholomew.
He is skeptical at first,
but then moves from doubt to strong belief.
Jesus calls these first disciples with an invitation.
In the previous verses, Jesus says to Andrew
“Come and see”.
Andrew then went and found his brother Simon (Peter)
and
said to him…
“We have found the Messiah.”
When Jesus found Philip, he said to him “Follow
Me”.
Philip finds Nathanael and says…
“We have found him….”
So after reading through these call stories
and the Old Testament
scripture about Samuel,
I thought ‘these are
about being called to follow’;
(my original title for
this sermon).
well, yes there is a definite call in Samuel and in the
gospel.
“Samuel! Samuel!”
A voice heard
in the night.
“Follow
me.”
A summons to be a part of something
new.
“We
have found him…”
An invitation to come and see.
Yet, there is more there than only a
call to follow;
To follow can be defined as to engage
in a calling or way of life;
to
follow a path or to accept an authority.
That makes sense…
Jesus says “Follow me.” as an
invitation to the disciples.
Samuel and the disciples are called
to follow,
so
why is the sermon title now ‘invitation
to witness’?
It has to do with the season of
Epiphany.
The season of Epiphany is the
celebration
of
the manifestation of the divine nature of Christ
to
the gentiles (represented by the Magi);
celebrating
God’s self-revelation to the world.
Jesus’ teachings are for all, Jews
and gentiles.
The word epiphany has its
Greek roots from the word
for
sunrise or dawn;
a
word referring to light, thus
light
is a symbol of Epiphany:
the
light of God’s love,
“the
light shines in the darkness
and
the darkness did not overcome it”.
Just as the dawn’s light reaches out
to all the earth,
God’s
divine covenant is extended to everyone.
The spreading of the good news of the
Messiah
began
simply with one person telling another:
Andrew telling Peter,
Philip telling Nathanael.
Epiphany with a small e is that
sudden flash or recognition,
or
in other words revelation;
eyes
being opened,
ears
hearing,
heart
and mind open to possibilities.
Revelation is not open or obvious to everyone,
yet,
it leads to witnessing
-witnessing
to the revelation,
a
confession of what one has seen and heard.
The Gospel of John can be seen as a
series of revelations
that
become accounts of witnessing:
witness
to the revelation that Jesus is the
Son of God.
From John the Baptist pointing to
Jesus,
John’s
disciples turn to Jesus,
they
come and see and then witness to
others.
Testimony. Faith. More testimony.
When there is testimony, there is a response….
“Here
I am!”
Samuel,
the boy with childlike faith;
“Speak, for your servant is
listening.”
Samuel responding obediently,
enthusiastically,
and ready for a new beginning;
“Rabbi,
you are the Son of God!”….
Nathanael’s
ultimate declaration.
However, Nathanael does not start there.
“Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Wow!
Nathanael
has doubts; he is judging on a preconception.
Is that a familiar response?
You
and I are guilty of jumping to conclusions
based
on nothing more than where
someone
is from,
where
they live,
their
occupation,
who
they are related to,
their
education,
how
they dress,
and
so many other superficial observations.
Where does that pre-judgmental
response come from?
Our inner doubts and fears.
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s book Strength to Love he mentions
words
of hope passed down through generations…
“Fear knocked,
Faith answered,
There was no one there.”*
What can overcome fear and doubt? Faith.
Nathanael moves from doubt to faith.
How?
Philip’s
testimony.
Philip does not argue with Nathanael;
He does not coerce him
or
try to discredit his doubt.
Philip listens.
Philip replies with the simple words,
“Come
and see”.
Philip has confidence that if
Nathanael will just
come
and see Jesus,
he
will see what Philip has said is true.
Nathanael does go, he meets Jesus,
talks with him.
Testimony, Faith. More testimony.
“Rabbi,
you are the Son of God!”
From doubt and fear to faith and
hope:
Once
again quoting Martin Luther King Jr.:
“The
faith transforms the whirlwind of despair
into a warm and revising breeze
of hope.”*
Nathanael is transformed from skeptic
to believer and witness.
Jesus has a lot in the in mind for
Nathanael
as
both disciple and witness.
In verse 51 Jesus says to him:
“you
will see heaven opened and the angels of God
ascending
and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Heaven opening…
as
when Jesus was baptized by John:
“I
saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove…”
Angels ascending and descending take
us back to the image
of
Jacob’s dream at Bethel, the ladder to heaven.
Jacob encounters God, he sees angels
and
hears God’s words of promise;
the
promise of God with him,
God’s protection, and
the promise of homecoming.
God is involved in and knows the
individual…
“O
Lord,
you have searched me and known me.
You
know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you
discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my
path and my lying down,
and
are acquainted with all my ways.
Even
before a word is on my tongue,
O
Lord,
you know it completely.”
God has knowledge of the worshiper;
heaven
is connected to earth.
There is a gateway to heaven,
whether
it is a vision of angels ascending and descending,
a
promise of the kingdom of God at work,
or
the sky opening and
the
Holy Sprit coming to earth as a dove.
God’s word made flesh which reveals
God’s glory,
and
this message is that Jesus,
the
Son of God, is the gateway to heaven.
The words Jesus speaks to Nathanael
are not just for Nathanael:
“you will see heaven opened and the angels
of God
ascending
and descending upon the Son of Man.”
That you is plural;
Jesus
is speaking to all,
including
the one reading the gospel.
Jesus opens Nathanael’s eyes and ears
to understand things more clearly.
The Gospel of John includes the
reader in the revelation
and
in the invitation to also be a witness;
Jesus can open our eyes and ears, our
hearts and minds.
Nathanael is voicing the community’s
faith
and
the reader is part of that community.;
the
hope is that the reader
will
make the same confession as Nathanael:
Jesus
is the Son of God!
Do you and I witness to others?
Witnessing, evangelism:
those
can be big scary words, but they do not
have to be;
Witnessing is an expression of mission and
discipleship,
reaching
out to others by sharing God’s love.
That should be one of the easiest
things you and I can do.
Through the Holy Spirit, we are given the
blessing
of
discipleship,
the ability
to reach out to others,
and to share
the gospel.
Think about it this way…
who
has said to you ‘come and see’?
a
family member,
a
teacher, a mentor,
a
friend, a neighbor?
To whom have you said it?
You and
I can say it with words….talking to a co-worker,
or an acquaintance, or
even someone who we have just met.
We can let it shine with
our actions in our daily life…
what you and I
do, how we do things.
Remember people tend to
make pre-judgments on
superficial observations,
so our actions reach beyond these
church walls
into our 24/7 world.
Be a follower;
be
a disciple;
be a witness.
One person telling another.
Testimony, Faith. More testimony.
Spread the good news…as Nathanael
proclaimed:
“Rabbi,
you are the Son of God!”
*MLK quotes are from his book Strength to Love.
