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This was delivered on Sunday 18th Jan 2009
it was based on John 1:43-53 [Bible text is at the end]

We all have important people in our life who help define who we are.

We see in the story from John’s Gospel today how Philip played a small,
but key role in Nathanael’s life.

There are times in life where I get a bit down.
Where I wish people would hear my side of a story,
or come round to my way of thinking.
Sometimes I work quite hard at this, getting people round to my way of thinking,
sometimes though it doesn’t work.

Moments like these can be very hard,
not soul destroying, but hard.

John records a lament at the beginning of his Gospel,
when in the first chapter he says of Jesus:
“He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” [Jn 1:11]

There is this lament from John that the people weren’t listening to Jesus.
The key,
or critical bit is that Jesus came for the Jewish people,
but they did not listen to him.

The story of Nathanael and Philip follows straight on from this lament of John’s,
and always gives huge hope.

When Philip went to Nathanael,
Nathanael said to him:
“Can anything good come out of Nazareth!”

Here he was writing of Jesus without even talking to him;
Nathanael was a Jew, and had written off Jesus.

It was the attitude of Nathanael and others like him that John struggled with,
he was saying of them:
“He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” [Jn 1:11]

John then goes on to restore our hope,
to show us that people do indeed change,
and the story of Nathanael shows us how this can happen.

The huge hope for us in this story,
is how such a small simple act from Philip had a profound impact on Nathanael.

Sometimes the smallest acts can have the most positive effect.

Dawn Redmann sent me this week the philosophy of Charles Schulz,
he writes the cartoon Charlie Brown.
He poses some questions, I’ll give them to you now. [QUE: for dataprojector]

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners (American College football).
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is , none of us remember the head-liners of yesterday.
Yet these are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields.

Schulz goes on to say:
- But the applause dies..
- Awards tarnish.
- Achievements are forgotten.
- Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson that Schulz is trying to convey is that:
The people who make a difference in your life:
- are not the ones with the most credentials..
- the most money
- or the most awards.

They simply are the ones who care the most.

He concludes with:
”Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!’

I think Schulz is trying to encourage us to be simple,
to realise that it’s the small things count.

It is here,
that we link back to our reading,
Philip shows how a small hand in the right place at the right time,
can lead to transformation in a person’s life,
all he said to Nathanael was: “Come and see.”

When we head through tragedy,
or maybe when we are feeling a bit down,
often we wonder like Nathanael (John 1:46) “can anything good come out of” the situation.

Many times when we are down,
different people will and do testify to what good can and is coming out of a situation.

And in this case it was the tiny,
but critical role of Philip,
who said “Come and see.”

Philip shows how a hand in the right place at the right time,
God’s hand and God’s timing,
can give someone the catalyst to take that first step.

After that first step amazing things happen.
Phillip being open to God’s Spirit allowed Nathanael to say:
“You are the Son of God“ and to then follow Jesus.

And for John this is critically important,
the confession that Jesus is the Son of God,
the critical moment of starting out as a disciple is in stating who Jesus is for us.

It is important too that I don’t leave out Jesus’ role in this too,
Jesus said to Nathanael “ ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ ”

We see the gracious nature of God coming through too.
Where not only does Philip say the right thing to Nathanael at the right time,
but Jesus also says to him what it is he needs to hear.

And this is the way with God,
Jesus wants to say to us what it is we need to hear,
all we need to do is be open and receptive to this.

Jesus reveals something to Nathanael no one other than God could know,
it is similar to Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan women,
where he reveals to the woman things about her life no one else knew.

It is in these “God-moments” that we are being called to respond,
we are called to respond to God’s revelation working in our lives.

We can choose to be non-responsive to God,
or we can like Nathanael respond in a positive way.

When Nathanael choose to be part of Jesus’ community,
he became someone who knew Jesus,
someone who accepted Jesus.

No longer was he one of “(God’s) own people did not accept him.” [Jn 1:11]
BUT instead he was now part of God’s new kingdom.

For Nathanael,
and indeed all who want to call themselves Disciples of Jesus,
there is no middle ground,
there is no compromise, (see Pilate John 18:28-19:16)
either Jesus is the Son of God to us,
or he is not.

Our response to this is something that is shown by not only what we say,
but also by how we respond to Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus,
and God want to convince us of the truth,
that there is a God,
that God loves us,
and Jesus wants us to be in community with him.

And as we respond to God’s call,
to be an important person in peoples lives in very small ways,
God’s Kingdom grows.

John, says at the end of the Gospel: (Jn 20:31) these (things) are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The life of Philip, Nathanael and the other disciples,
are recorded to help transform our doubt.

As we read the story of Jesus,
it is able to transform us through the working of the Holy Spirit,
and the small input of others that God puts in our life.

Let us pray:
May Jesus transform you self-doubt into action.
May you come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
As through believing we have life in his name. Amen.

John 1:43-51 [NRSV]
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ 46Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ 47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ 48Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ 49Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ 50Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ 51And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you,* you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’.

John 1:43-51 [CEV]

43-44The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”
45Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets [a] wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”
47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn’t deceitful.” [b] 48″How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”
50Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

2009-01-18