This sermon was delivered to St Oswald’s in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland on the 18th January 2015 (a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries).
Welcome
Today we shall return to our Gospel readings and the theme for today is to meet with, or be in the presence of Jesus. It is a rather simple Gospel reading as you will here, but anything from Johns Gospel is full of meaning.
1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20) Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 John 1:43-51
“Please be seated, and join me in a short prayer.” Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord. Amen. (Psalms. 19:14)
Introduction
Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the book of John, and as you know, John is described as the disciple whom Jesus loved; so you could say John was the disciple who was closest to Jesus; ... and that is one of the reasons why John's gospel is so much richer than any of the other gospels. The entire book focuses on Jesus and any mention of anyone else, is only there to support Jesus. ...
The purpose of the book of John is revealed in chapter 20 verse 30 which says, " But what is written is done so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name". … I like that, "you may have life in his name".
That phrase, which says life, means true life, life with power, and so power comes from our relationship with Jesus, and nothing else. John 10:10 goes further and says, "The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that you may have life, … and that you may have it more abundantly". And this too is a good verse, because we are not just taking about living it up, we are talking about God channelling his life through us, ... so that we may pass it on to others.
And yet, we are so used to this type of thinking that we forget how others receive life, or how others worship different Gods. Two weeks ago in my sermon on the two kings we looked at how some people receive life from bullying, … and intimidating others, ... they take life with menaces, ... and they keep this life for themselves, ... destroying everything they come into contact with.
And others receive life by worshiping different Gods by different names and by different methods; … for example, some religions require an intimate knowledge of rituals, or even ceremonies. Others are steeped in philosophies and laws just like our books of the Old Testament, like the Law, the Proverbs and the Psalms, but especially the law. … In fact, from what I see from all other religions, atonement is by a persons good deeds and, … by their efforts to become “good people”, and by changing their ways of life.
Christianity is so different … atonement in Christianity is only achieved by what Jesus did on the cross for us. … Yet many so called Christians do not understand that. They say all the correct phrases, but live completely different life, a life trying to live up to the law in the forlorn hope that God will accept them.
Yes we Christians will become better people, … yes we will change our ways, and yes … we will help others, but it is not because we will or want it to happen, … it is not because we strive to achieve it, no, … in Christianity we only succeed through our relationship with Jesus, … and nothing else.
Christianity is about a person, and seeking that person, … and then everything will be added. Matthew 6:33 says simply, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
Those whose ministries are Evangelical, must convey this message, they must point a person directly to Jesus, … nothing else. No church, … no doctrine, … no set of rules or regulations or guideline, … only Jesus, he is all that is needed. … Yes Jesus may, and probably will point us in the direction of those things, but, … we must seek him first, … and through the holy spirit, we will be channelled onto a path that Jesus wants us to follow. This path cannot be determined by man, ... it can only be determined by him, … him our personal saviour. … I just wish I heard this message 20 years ago, instead of all the doctrine and dogma, and all the to gooder type of things that we are supposed to do.
And this too was the message of John the Baptist, … he was so named because he immersed people in water, in preparation for the arrival of Jesus. When ask whom John was taking about, he would say, "I baptize with water: but there stands one among you, … one who is coming after me … whose shoe's I am not worthy to unloose".
John the Baptists message was clear, … prepare yourself for the coming Messiah. And soon after his arrival, John the Baptist faded into the background so all of the attention, could be given to Jesus.
Soon after this, Jesus called his disciples, and Andrew was one of the first, to follow Jesus, and straight away Andrew sought out his brother Peter and pointed him in the direction of Jesus; and what is interesting here is that according to the bible, Andrew never became the disciple Peter became, … and although Andrew did had his own path to follow; … Peter, … well, you know the rest, ... Peter became one of the leading disciples, … however, Peter would ever have become the disciple he did, ... unless Andrew had pointed him in the direction of Jesus first.
… And this is where we pick up or story today, … verse 43 "Jesus went forth into Galilee, and he found Philip, and said unto him, Follow me", which brings us to Philip.
And notice what Philip does first, verse 45, "Philip finds Nathanael, and says unto him, ... We have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph".
We do not know who Nathanael was, but Philip tells him about Jesus. Philip being the Evangelist here, (and by the way, it takes a lot of skill an enthusiasm to be effective evangelist), … to point a person in the direction of the Lord, … with a zeal that is infectious. Why, … because they are going to face a lot of opposition: … they are going to meet:
people who are not in the least bit interested in Christianity;
they are going to meet people who will have no idea what they are talking about;
or people who are bluntly opposed to our views and beliefs;
people who call us hypocrites, and in many cases I suppose they are correct, we are not perfect … I certainly am not as Christine constantly reminds me.
We will meet people who will ask awkward questions knowing full well that we cannot answer them.
but … we will also meet people who are just worried, or doubtful, or sceptical, people who genuinely want answers, ... people like Nathanael.
Nathanael was born a Jew from Galilee. His home town was Cana where Jesus would perform his first miracle at the wedding in a few days. His name Nathanael meant “a gift of God”, meaning his parents cherished him from birth, and was most probably brought up in the synagogue, … schooled in the Jewish laws and customs, … and the teachings of the prophesied Messiah. … And so Nathanael was ready with questions when Philip invites him to meet Jesus.
But Nathanael first response to Philip was in verse 46 “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said unto him, Come and see".
"Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth"? Now some scholars think that Nathanael understood the Old Testament so well that he knew the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem, and not Nazareth. … So if Jesus was from Nazareth, he couldn’t be the Messiah.
But this answer could just be a cynical retort from somebody not from Nazareth; for example I have heard it said, “can anything good come out of Maybole”, … I know I have also said something just as nasty in the past, probably in return, … can anything good come out of Girvan, or Ayr, or Glasgow, or any rival town or city to my own. You may have done it yourself, … or something similar.
Anyway, I do not think this is important, but what happens next is, because Nathanael with his doubts, … went with Philip to meet Jesus, and notice how Jesus greeted him in verse 47, "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said to him, 'Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is without guile;"!
“Without guile” here describes a person of integrity. Jesus greeted Nathanael with respect. The term Israelite here is also a term of respect, … from which we see that Jesus liked Nathanial from the start, easing the tension.
But not for long, … verse 48 goes on "Nathanael said unto him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called you, … when you were under the fig tree, … I saw you there".
Now, that does not make much sense to us, but most Bible scholars think the fig tree has an important meaning in Jewish culture, because the Rabbis would often use the phrase “being under your fig tree” like we might use the term, “in our quiet time, … with the Lord”. So "to be under the fig tree", literally or figuratively, means to be in prayer or in meditation. Jesus could be saying "I heard your prayer".
Which is all very good, but whether that is true or not, we all know that Jesus knows our hearts; … and this was certainly enough for Nathanial to answer in verse 49, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel".
From a scholars or sceptics or cynics point of view, this makes sense, however what happened here, from my point of view is different but simpler, … and it is this, (you don’t have to agree) but: … … Nathanael met Jesus in person, … and something from Jesus radiated the fact that he was the Messiah to Nathanael.
Ok, … then think in the opposite extreme, … when we meet with someone dubious, regardless of how they may appear, regardless of what they say or how they speak, … something radiates from them that makes alarm bells ring in our head, … alarms which say, "stand back", or “don’t get to close”, or "get out of here", or "I do not like this person", or “this person is trouble”, … something is radiated, … and something is communicated.
And remember Jesus is an extreme example of a human being, he is Son of God, he is full of the Holy Spirit, … and are you trying to tell me nothing was radiated from him. No way, to be in his presence must have had an effect; after all that is what we pray for ever single week; to be in his presence. … And that is why I believe that Nathanial knew he was the Christ.
When we pray, … we all know that the words are less important, than the man. In fact, I am sure that if we are to meet with Jesus in person, very little would need to be said; ... Jesus can see our spirit, from which a lot would be communicated. Jesus knows what we need before we ask.
Matthew 6:31 says “Therefore take no thought of what you shall eat … or what shall drink or what shall you wear as the Gentiles seek: … for your heavenly Father knows what you need. … But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.
Jesus wants to reveal heaven to us, … and this is probably what he means in verse 50, "Jesus answered and said unto Nathanael, … because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, ... believe me now when I say that you shall see greater things than these. ... ... Verily, verily, I say unto you, … here after you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man".
Jesus has promises Nathanial answers to even bigger questions than he could possibly ask. And this is exactly what I mean, it is to be in the presence of Jesus that is important; … and not the things we could ask for.
Many years ago I read an article about Mother Teresa which puzzled me for a while, but which is now relevant here as I am beginning to understand it.
When asked how she prayed to the Lord, Mother Teresa said, (and I am kind of guessing here but this is the gist), she said, "when I pray, I seek a quiet place. I pray to the Lord and ask him a few things. I then let him speak to me for a short while, … and then I stay in his presence; … he with me, and I with him, where nothing is spoken, .. we just enjoy being in each others presence".
When Mother Teresa spoke, countries or governments were known to act. ... We don't need to take a shopping list of our wants and desires to the Lord, we only truly need to seek his presence, and the rest will be added.
Let us stop there for now, and have that type of prayer.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.
Father,
We thank you for Jesus, we thank you that he died so that we can be at one with you.
Father, we have problems, we have desires, we have troubles, and in Jesus name, we list them and bring them forth to you now. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Father, speak to us all, as we listen. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Father we stay in your presence. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Father, we thank you in Jesus name, Amen.
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed by this sermon, or any of my sermons, I would be greatly honoured to receive an e-mail from you saying so; I like so many others need encouragement.
I often feel that to deliver a sermon one time to my congregation is such a waste; where as many more could be blessed by its message, after all, it is not for my glory but for his. I would therefore like my sermons to bless more people, preferably internationally and not only in a small part, of a small country called Scotland.
Simply let me know where you are in the world … and any other information you may want to share or be prayed for. I would also take it as a compliment for you to use my sermons in order to bless others in his almighty name. I do not even need acknowledged, but he does, and I will receive a blessing directly from him.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and I wish you "all the best" as we say in Scotland … and I pray that your endeavours in the Lord are equally blessed. Yours in Christ, Gordon McCulloch, Scotland.
Compiled By: Gordon McCulloch (Worship Leader),
St Oswalds Episcopal Church,
Maybole. Ayrshire.
Scotland. UK
KA19 8KF
E-Mail: gccmcculloch @ aol.com or through Sermon Central
