John 1:45-49
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote-- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." 48 "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
“I Do 1” - The First Date
Since I was a little shy when I was in high school, I didn’t ask many girls out on dates. So my friend came up to me one day and said, “Hey, I’ve lined you up with a great date for Saturday night. It’s all set.” “Who is it?” I asked. It turned out to be his cousin Doris. I had never met her. In fact, I had never met any girl named Doris. “Oh, no,” I said, “I’m not going on a blind date.” “Hey, don’t worry about this one,” my friend said. “Doris is a terrific girl. And trust me—she’s a babe. But if you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you how to get out of the date if you don’t like the way she looks.
This is what I do: I go to a girl’s front door to pick her up, and when she opens the door, I check her out. If I like what I see, then great, we’re all set. But if she’s ugly, I fake an asthma attack. I go ‘Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!’ (Hold your throat like you’re having trouble breathing.) The girl asks, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I say, ‘It’s my asthma.’ And so we have to call off the date. Just like that. No problemo.” “Well, I don’t know...but okay, it sounds easy enough.
I’ll do it,” I said. So I went to pick up Doris. I knocked on the door, and within seconds, she was standing right in front of me. I took a look at her, and to my surprise, my friend was right. She was beautiful! I stood there not knowing exactly what to say. She took one look at me and went, “Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!”
I bet we all have those kinds of stories. Dates that have gone horribly. Matchups that were bad for us. Relationships that were just no good! It’s so hard finding “the ONE!” We get to the point sometimes where we just want anybody to like us.
We go through the stages where we will do anything to fit in… anything to be liked. We’ll change our personas… change our personalities to fit in. You know… there was a time where I was a cowboy hat wearing, pick-up driving, George Strait listening cowboy! For the ladies! I went from that to the preppy vest wearing, clean cut college kid look… For the ladies! There is nothing bad with either of those… they just weren’t me! We try SO hard to fit someone ELSE’S mold… we are not true to ourselves… and we become shells of ourselves out in the dating world… where it is not US dating them… but some figment of somebody else’s imagination out on the dating scene.
Hopefully, we all got to the point where we learned… it’s best just to be YOU! To be yourself and act like yourself… because the true relationship worth waiting for is with someone who loves you for YOU! But that alone doesn’t solve all of the problems does it. You can be you… and still get hooked up with some terrible matches… even abusive matches… matches that are just plain bad for you. Like that saying, sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince charming!
I was there once… where even my cat was like “C’mon man… she’s treating you like garbage!” When others confront you… “What are you doing?” When we’re there… what we do? We fool others and we fool ourselves.
It’s not that bad. You don’t know what they are really like. I deserve it. They’ve gotten so much better. They can change. And like gluttons for punishment we’ve put up with relationships that damage us, control us, and strip us of our dignity and self respect.
Back then... one of my best friends… named Alyssa… couldn’t understand why I continually put up with so much garbage. You don’t deserve it. You can do so much better. Does she EVER make you feel good about yourself? Why do you put up with this? Why don’t you just let go and set yourself free? Eventually… hopefully… we realize what is best for us… and pursue the one that will REALLY make us happy.
Now, you might be wondering… what the heck is this guy talking about and what in the world does this have to do with Jesus. How dare he talk about his dating life when he should be preaching! Well let’s get to it. We’ve been talking about human relationships so far this morning… but you know the funny thing… everything we’ve said so far can be applied to our spiritual relationships as well.
I bet we all have those kinds of stories. Things we’ve tried to make ourselves happy and fulfilled that have gone horribly. Things we’ve done that were bad for us. Relationships that were just no good! It’s so hard finding that ONE! We get to the point sometimes where we just want to find anything that will bring us some happiness and relief.
We go through the stages where we will do anything to find it. You know… there are times where we try to fill the empty spot in my soul with money and possessions! For happiness! We go from that to fulfillment in shallow relationships… For happiness! A million other things that we pour ourselves into… trying hard to find happiness and fulfillment… and we become shells of ourselves out in the world. Empty. Aching. With huge holes in our soul.
Perhaps a friend has even said something… “C’mon man… this is no good for you!” But we try so hard to fool others and we try so hard to fool ourselves. It’s not that bad. You don’t know what it’s really like. I’m happy… really. And like gluttons for punishment we’ve put up with things that have damaged us, have controlled us, and have stripped us of our dignity and self respect.
You don’t deserve it. You can do so much better. Does it EVER make you feel good about yourself? Why do you put up with this? Why don’t you just let go and set yourself free? Eventually… hopefully… we realize what is best for us… and pursue the one that will REALLY make us happy.
Psalm 16:9-11
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Now THAT is what I’m talking about. That is what we yearn for… that what we strive for…. that is what we are looking for… trying to fill that void of emptiness. THAT is the answer. We can try and try and try to find things in this world to fill us up… but nothing ever fills us up no matter what we try… there is only one thing that can fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts.
We need to meet “the one!” And when we meet him… hopefully we recognize him as “the one.” Our scripture text for this morning speaks to just that… it comes to us from the book of John, chapter one.
John 1:45-49
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote-- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." 48 "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Can anything good come from Nazareth. It’s a little like saying, can anything good come from Pontiac??? Nathanael had his doubts… especially with all of his preconceived notions getting in the way. We struggle with the same things today.
We are programmed to think that there IS happiness in this world… that we can find contentment if we just own the right thing. We are programmed to think that a relationship with God in nature is all we need. We are programmed to think a thousand different things… so when someone talks about church, the knee jerk reaction of our culture is “Church, can anything good come from there?” The Church has become a symbol for many undesirable things… it’s a waste of time on Sunday mornings, it’s filled with hypocrites, it does nothing but hate others and judge them. It’s hard to break past all of that and say to them, “Just come and see.”
Come and see the one who knows you even before you started walking in the door. Come and see the one who knows you exactly for what you are… knows you inside and out… knows all the dirt you hide from everyone else… and loves you all the same. Come and see the one that can truly make you feel loved, feel fulfilled, feel whole.
He is “the ONE!” It is time to give up on all the losers.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
