I.
When I was a high school senior,
I had the opportunity to meet Peter Howard, who was a
British Olympic gold Medalist from the 1950's.
A.I got a
chance to talk to Peter Howard one on one after he spoke at
a breakfast in Los Angeles. I will never forget what he
said to me. He looked me right in the eye and asked me,
“What is your passion in life?”
1.
I want to graduate from high
school with honors.
2.
“That’s good,” he said. “What
next?...
a.
I am going to college.
3.
What next? ...
a.
Well, I guess I want to be a
minister, ever since I was in 6
5.
“Is that all you plan to do
with your life? You’ve got to have a passion in life.”
6.
You and I must have a passion
that drives us each. And you must know what that passion is.
You have to be able to see far beyond yourself, to look for
something greater!
7.
That is the challenge Jesus laid
out in front of Nathanael when Andrew found him sitting
under the tree.
a.
What was Nathanael doing?
Studying the law and the prophets?
b.
Jesus wanted him to looking for
something greater.
I went
home late Tuesday evening, and I was looking forward to
seeing a rebroadcast of the Inauguration Parade and oath of
office.
1.
But I was disappointed. After 9
p.m., there were no TV stations doing a re-run, only the
inaugural balls.
2.
However, I did run across Fox
News, and ABC, which were offering a perspective on what
this day meant to black people across this nation!
a.
One subject that grabbed my
attention. was the figure of a 10 year old black fifth
grader, Damon Weaver, who came to Washington, D.C. to
cover the inauguration as a news journalist in his own
right. Did any of you see him on the inaugural coverage?
b.
He is a TV news reporter in
his Cunningham/Canal Point Elementary School in Pahokee,
Florida. He appears on the local city broadcasts. $8,000 was
raised for his trip, he was outfitted with a tuxedo, and
given tickets by his Congressman. He got to interview Opra
Winfrey and some others, but he was not given permission to
interview the new President. I saw Damon Weaver on the ABC
News set, sitting beside Diane Sawyer. She interviewed him.
c. Sawyer asked
him to whisper in her ear what he wanted to ask the
President. Then she asked for permission to share it with
the public. He said, No, because “I still plan on
interviewing the President .” [pause]
II.
Nathanael in John asks, “‘Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?’”. He is invited to
“‘Come and See.’”
A.Philip, the
first disciple in John, offers the same challenge to his
friend that Jesus did to him.
1.
Come and see with your own human
eyes,
2.
Jesus, in this Gospel, does not
find disciples by saying, “‘Follow me.’”
c)
Come and see with the eyes of a
driving passion in life!
3.
Throughout this Gospel, there is a
tension between those who come to see Jesus through ordinary
eyes and those who see him through the eyes of faithful
discipleship.
B.Isn’t it
surprising that Jesus here reveals the most information about
himself to the one who is the skeptic, to Nathanael. He does the
same thing at the end of the Gospel, to Thomas a doubter, and
the key word or verb both times is to
see.
1.
Damon Weaver and his teacher came to
Washington, DC., even though he had been denied press
credentials. He came to see.
a)
He invited Obama over the air: “Have
your people get in touch with my people.” Sawyer asked Weaver,
“And who are your people?”
2.
Who are Nathanael’s “people?”
3.
He calles him “the Jew,” “the
Israelite.”
a)
Unlike other mention of “the Jews”
in John, this reference is clearly a complement and term of
respect.
b)
Nathanael is “‘an Israelite in whom
there is no deceit.’”
c)
He is, in Jesus’ eyes, a good Jew, a
very rare one.
d)
Nathanael conveys a model for
faithfulness.
C.“Seeing is
critical in this interchange between Jesus and Nathanael.
1.
“Seeing” is a theological
statement in this Gospel. It is not just about eyes, but
about a way of life, a passion for living!
2.
Nathanael wants to know, “‘Where did
you get to know me?’”
a)“‘I
saw you under the fig tree even before Philip called you.’”
b)“‘Do
you believe because I saw you?’”
c)
“‘You shall see even greater things than all
these.’”
3.
Does Jesus mean that Nathanael will
have better eyesight than the people around him?
a)
that his vision is better than
20/20?
b)
Or that he will be able to catch a
vision of faith that is far greater than what he now is able to
see?
4.There is a point in
the Gospel, chapter 12.22, just before he is to die, some Greeks
come to Philip, and they say to him, “‘We wish to see Jesus.’”
Philip goes to consult with Andrew. Then Jesus tells them both,
“‘Now
is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified.’”
a)
as if these two are not yet seeing
clearly, not yet seeing Jesus’ passion clearly
5.
I still love Anna B. Sawyer’s 160
year-old hymn,
a)
We would see Jesus, on the mountain teaching,
... in his
work of healing, ...divine and human, in
his deep revealing of God made flesh, in loving service
met. We would see Jesus, Let us arise, all meaner service
scorning; Lord, we are thine, we give ourselves to thee.
Do
any of us here today seeing Jesus as Nathanael will see him?
a)
Are we looking like we always have
when we come on Sunday morning: through ordinary eyes, not
wanting to be challenged, not wanting to give up control over
our own eyesight?
7.
An interesting note about Anna
Warner is that she wrote novels as well. She liked to include
hymns in the novels she wrote. She introduced the song, “Jesus
Loves Me” as a poem in her novel, “Say and Seal” in 1851.
D.Jesus promises
this man sitting under the tree, “‘I tell you, you will see
heaven opened and angels going up and down to the Son of
Man.’”
1.
This is a “rich illusion” which the
fourth Gospel reshapes of Jacob’s dream of the ladder, on which
angels are ascending and descending, but here the ladder is
replaced by Christ himself.
a)
It is suggestive of how Jacob
started out. He could not see the greater things of faith,
because he was not looking for them; he was running away. It
would be years before he could see anything greater than
himself.
2.
How is Nathanael supposed to be
watching?
3.
In this first chapter of John,
Jesus is seen in different roles, given different titles,
several of which come from the lips of Nathanael.
a)
Lamb of God,
b)
Messiah,
c)
Son of God,
d)
King of Israel,
e)
Son of Man - Jesus’ title for
himself.
f)
These will all be expanded and
transformed as wonderful expressions of faithful seeing and its
costliness.
g)
for it is only the Son of Man, Jesus
in his Passion, who bridges the gap, who climbs the ladder
between heaven and earth.
4.
What greater thing was the man under
the tree to see?
a)The answer John
gives us in chapter 1:14, “And
the Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and
truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son
from the Father.”
III.What Are
you Looking for in this Church ? Is your vision limited to
seeing a new pastor in another year? or something else to do
with our program? Or, do you believe Christ’s Promise that
because you believe, you will “see greater things than these?”
A.First, with what
eyes are you looking?
1.
Because if you are looking with only
your limited human eyes, you are not going to see much of
anything.
2.
If you do not have a passion, you
will be disappointed.
3.
With human eyesight, we cannot
expand our boundaries,
a)
we cannot see into the future,
b)
we cannot trust,
c)
we cannot hope.
d)
We cannot believe God’s promises
4.
Remember, this seeing is not
about eyes, but a life style, a change of heart, a passion for
living!
(page 3)
B.If you are
seeing with eyes of faith,
then heaven itself shall be opened to you!
1.
with lives transformed
unconditionally, a new passion to live for Jesus
2.
I have had people come into my
office and lay out there demands:
a)
“We hired you to do this, and you
are not doing it!”
b)
“Unless this and this changes, my
family will not be back.”
3.
Is this looking through eyes of
faith–yours or the other person’s where we may see miracles, see
things happening we never believed possible?
a)
Friends, there is a reason Jesus
says “we have to die to ourselves” if we really truly want “to
rise with him!”
4.
There have been some difficult times
working with Session and with the Deacons since I
have been here...
a)
It has been plain to me that in some
of these times you, and especially I, have looking with
human eyes and talking from human hearts.
b)
Those have been the hardest times,
(1)
most painful for me,
(2)
times when we wound each other
(3)
and cause damage without realizing
it.
c)At other times we
have been looking and seeing with eyes of faith, and our passion
for Christ Jesus, and those have ended up being the most hopeful
times, the most enjoyable moments. [pause]
IV.
John’s testimony is that “no
one has ever seen God”
(1.18).
A.The only
way this is going to happen is when others here on West Main
Street see the living Christ in you and me, in how we live
and walk and talk with one another.
1.
The risen Lord speaks with Thomas in
the Upper Room on Easter evening, and once again he talks about
the two kinds of seeing:
a) “‘Have
you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet believe.’”
b)“Whoever
among us believes, will also do these works (that Jesus has
done) and greater works than these will you do,’”
because he Christ has now
gone to the Father.
B.Please, each one
of you, join me in prayer–and let this now be your prayer today.