Come and See
John 1:43-51
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
I was reminded this week about age. I now say things that I heard my grandparents say. Things like, "I remember 40 years ago this month," or, "I remember the lines that we stood in to get our polio shots," or even, "When did they stop delivering milk and whatever happened to milk bottles?"
Obviously, I spent some time reflecting this week and it all started when I read this morning scripture. Philip is asked by Nathanael, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" And Philip answers him, "Come and see."
It was like a flash back to a time long ago. Young Tony, our son, was maybe four. All the extra fat of a young child gone, hair almost white from playing in the sun most days, and he came running into the house. "Dad, Come and see!" "What, Tony?" "Hurry! Come and see!"
I followed him into the back yard and he had discovered for the first time a Horny toad. They were not near as plentiful as when I had been a youngster and it had taken my son longer to discover this wonder of nature but here was one of those moments in life that takes you breath away. This small creature that is a throw back to another time, to another age. It is a moment that transforms a view of the world. Horned Toads are small but look like a prehistoric monster and that is both their strength and their weakness. They are nearing extinction because of their unusual characteristics. Everyone picks them up and takes them home and they die because we don’t know what to feed them. While I am still amazed when I see a horny toad and I can’t remember the first one I ever saw, I am so glad I was there to share when my son came and hollowed, "Dad! Come and see!"
I am not always a very good lectionary preacher. Each week I read what the Old Testament, Psalm, Gospel and Epistle Lessons are but I believe that you give me the subject and the text to preach from. But this week, I read each and they fit to well that I knew I had to find a way to tell you about the excitement of these four lessons and the wonder that is there.
The first lesson is the Old Testament story of Samuel’s call by God. You know the story. Samuel is called, "Samuel, Samuel!" and he runs to Eli. Eli is an old man and asleep. "I didn’t call you. Go back to bed." Samuel goes back to bed wondering if he was hearing things. "Samuel, Samuel!" He jumps up and again runs to Eli and again Eli sends him packing back to bed. Samuel again lays down and again God calls him, "Samuel, Samuel!" Again he runs back to Eli and this time Eli was still awake and finally gets it. "It’s a God thing." Eli tells Samuel to go back to bed and when he is called again, to answer, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."
There is a moment that will take you breath away. God speaking to you. That is a moment you will remember. What a wonderful way to measure your life. When God speaks to you.
God was searching for Samuel and we understand that when we read the Psalm lesson. "You have searched me and known me. You know everything about me. The knowledge that God knows us better than we know ourselves is almost overwhelming. Yet, when we finally understand it, it is a moment that takes our breath away. It is a way to measure our lives.
The Gospel lesson ties them all together as it always does in some way. It is the wonderful story not just of Philip’s call to follow Christ but of Philip’s enthusiastic response to the call and of his telling Nathanael to come and know Christ. Nathanael’s response is one that many of you have heard in differing ways when you invite friends to church. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Then there is Philip’s response, "Come and See!" Nathanael did and was rewarded by his action. He found out that Jesus knew who he was. More important, Jesus had a plan for him in his live and in the next life as well.
This afternoon, I am going to be talking with members of other Methodist Church’s in our District about evangelism. The crux of what I am going to be talking about is what is not working in evangelism and the question will be, why are we still using it? Because I am not their pastor, I suppose that I can’t tell them what the real problem is in evangelism but as I read these passages, I think I have a better understanding of why we are not any better at evangelism than we are.
First, we have forgotten what it was like when our name was called. Yours may not have been as dramatic as Samuel’s call but you were called just the same. In place of the name Samuel, put in your name. Do you remember the first time that you started to understand that God was calling you into a relationship? We as Methodist love to talk about Wesley warmed heart and about a warming of our heart so let me ask you, do you remember when you heart was warmed? Can you remember how that felt? Do you remember what it was like to tell God, Here Am I. Use me.
I think that we also forget that God knows us better than we know ourselves. God is above us, below us, beside us, around us, in us and we seem to think that we have control. We seem to think that we know what is best and the only time we really want to talk to God is to ask for something. Instead of Here am I, we ask, where are you?
But the most important thing that we have lost is the enthusiasm of a four year old who rushes in and says, Come and See!
We are so complacent about God in our lives, so complacent about worship, so complacent about evangelism that what the attitude of, I got mine so pull up the latter is all that we can communicate to others.
When I was in Pennsylvania in December, I went to church. I sat and listened and watched. People walked in, shook hands with those they knew, talked about who was doing what and when, sat down, sang a few hymns, listened to a sermon, nodded their heads, took up a collection, sang another hymn and went home. It was about as exciting as watching hair grow on my bald head.
Do we do that? Have we substituted excitement about a building to overshadow the exciting news of Jesus Christ? When you have told someone to come and see, what do you want them to see, a building or the foundation for life everlasting? Is our excitement about who we are or is it about whose we are?
In the days ahead, we are going to have planning meetings to discuss what we will do in the next year, the next three to five years and maybe even longer than that. Will we simply plan building and vehicles, and land use or will be plan for building with the Kingdom of God here in our little corner of the earth?
Now, I am certain that I am offending some of you. I know that there are those in the congregation that have a fire inside of you that burns to tell others about the Jesus you know and I want to apologize if you are offended. But this week, while watching our men build our new building, I found the example of exactly what I am taking about.
There was some debris that needed burning — limbs, trash, dead grass, that sort of thing. There were several plies made to burn this debris. Most were small, but one was quite large. The small ones, the ones that had just a little pile, made for a small fire and burned out rather quickly. But the one that had lots of limbs, lots of trash, lots of stuff, made a roaring blaze that had to be watched. It gave off tremendous heat and burned all day.
If we have just a few, who are excited, just a few who are willing to tell the story of Jesus Christ then we will have a small fire. But if everyone here, everyone will share the excitement of what Jesus is doing in the world, we will build a fire for Christ that will cause the Fire Department to call out the reserves and bring in help from Chandler and Brownsboro and maybe even Edom.
I want to share with you a story this morning. It is an old story and one you may know. I found this story in John. The first chapter of John actually. Let me read you this story. "The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi"(which translated means Teacher,) "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "we have found the Messiah" which is translated Anointed, AND HE BROUGHT HIM TO JESUS!"
Whenever and wherever I find a story of Andrew, he is always doing one thing — bringing people to Jesus. What did he say, "Come and See! What did he do? He brought other to Christ.
I am forever telling folks that Methodist don’t christen, we baptize. Well, this morning I am going to Christen. I am christening each of you, Andrew. In honor of your new name, we are going to have a special Sunday in two weeks. We are going to call it Andrew Sunday. The First Sunday in February will be Andrew Sunday and in preparation for your special Sunday, I want you to invite — no, I want you tell others, Come and See! That is going to be a day that we will need to get out the folding chairs, the chairs from the classrooms and if necessary, have standing room only because we are going to demonstrate that there is excitement about Jesus at Lake Palestine, there is a fire burning, there is a heart that has been warmed.
This is not the function of the Evangelism Committee, it is not the job of the Administrative Council. It is not another building project for the Board of Trustees. This is going to be a day for which we will tell others, "Come and See!" And bring other to Jesus. This is going to be a function of everyone named Andrew.
And what is your name?
