Come and See--January 16, 2024

Come and See--January 16, 2024

"Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip 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.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’" [John 1:44-46]

When you know you've found something good, it's funny how the questions or criticism of others doesn't phase you.  

Philip knows he has encountered something deeply good in Jesus, and so he is confident in that goodness and has no need to be defensive or insecure.  No amount of angry yelling or name-calling is necessary when his friend Nathanael at first seems dismissive of the would-be Messiah from Nazareth.  Philip doesn't say, "Well, your hometown is stupid and bad, too!" nor does he need to put Nathanael down in order to puff himself up or make Jesus look "better" somehow.  Philip is just so convinced about the goodness of meeting Jesus (and maybe he also knows how surprising it is that the Messiah should come from a nowhere town, so he can understand Nathanael's unvarnished skepticism), that he doesn't need to lash out or attack Nathanael.  He can simply rest in the assurance that Jesus is worth knowing, and he can simply offer back the invitation, "Come and see."

There is something simultaneously courageous and vulnerable about that invitation, "Come and see."  Philip makes no pretenses and offers no sales-pitch.  There is no hype or empty promises that following Jesus will produce health and wealth, and there is no ominous threat about going to hell if he says no.  Philip leaves himself wide open to being rejected, and yet he is convinced that Jesus is such a life-changing presence that just knowing him is compelling somehow.  That's really what the Christian community is, isn't it?  We are people who have been changed by meeting Jesus, so that nothing is ever quite the same afterward, ourselves included.  And in response, all we need to say to other people is, "Come and see," without insecure name-calling, without fire-and-brimstone threats, and without selling Jesus as a ticket to fame and fortune.  We are convinced that Jesus himself is enough.

In a culture like ours, however, where everything is turned into a commodity for sale, it is no surprise that an awful lot of church folks (pastors included) seem to think that "Come and see," needs more pizazz, more prestige, or more programming to make it attractive.  So often we confuse evangelism (which is meant to be declaring good news about something that is already accomplished) with marketing some kind of deal that is activated if--and only if--you act now, pray the right prayer, attend the right church, or do the appropriate spiritual action.  And so often what that means is we end up seeing other churches and other Christian groups as "competition" (other "brands" vying for more of the market share of potential customers who are "church shopping") rather than seeing all of us who follow Jesus as simply sent out in different directions with the same invitation as Philip gave to his friend Nathanael: "Come and see." And from there, it's no wonder that we end up with churches that spend literal fortunes on making a spectacle in public performances with lights, smoke, screens, and high-wire acts (yes, sometimes literally those) rather than using those resources for feeding neighbors or helping to house refugees.  It's no wonder we end up with a culture of celebrity-pastors, crafting their "brand" with books, merchandise, and social media followers.  And it's no wonder, either, that the watching world looks at all of that and has a hard time seeing Jesus in any of it--because he's so often lost in the fog from the smoke machines and can't be heard over the guitar solo of the praise band.

Our challenge on this day then is to recover our truest calling--we are dared, like Philip, to meet Jesus and to draw others into meeting Jesus, too, and then to share in his work of embodying the Reign of God, in all the ways that will affect our lives.  But meeting Jesus is a far cry from selling Jesus, and Jesus is not looking for sales representatives or marketing experts.  He calls us to meet him, and then to offer to others as with join in Jesus' work of healing, welcoming, and restoring, simply the invitation, "Come and see."

Who that you know might need, not merely a sales-pitch for a brand of church, but the clear and confident word of welcome, "Come and see"?  What would it look like to reach out to them today?

Lord Jesus, as you've drawn us to yourself let us draw others with your same compelling word of invitation, to come and see.