John 1:43-51”

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 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.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” 

Come and See.  Invitation.  It’s always good to be invited to something isn’t it?  We want to feel included.  It can also be a bit scary to accept an invitation or to come and see?  Yet, when we do, even thought we may not know what to expect, new things can bring growth.  

I’m sure we can all relate to new things…especially today, you have a new pastor!  Probably some of you even this morning are sitting here thinking, “Who is this new person?  What is this year going to be like?  Will it get better than 2023?”or “what is this sermon going to be like?  And how long will it be?  What is going to emerge at Westwood First Presbyterian this year?  What things can we depend on?  Where are we going as a community?  As a church?  What am I being asked to be a part of?”  

Well, trying something new or “experiencing” something different can be scary…it can also be deeply good as we allow others to see us and we want to see others.  Being open and vulnerable takes risk and willingness for growth and change. 

And, sometimes, change is necessary.  When I was first approached by Lisa Allgood, our general presbyter, and asked if I was open to a new call.  I told her I did not think so.  But, as time went by, I began to realize that I needed a change, that I needed and wanted a disruption that would take me out of something a bit comfortable and into something new.  As Westwood First opened up, and I opened up to a new invitation, I began to experience a deep sense that this invitation was one that I wanted to say yes to and to be curious and courageous about.  

Throughout our lives, we have invitations.  The question is do we say yes.  I was raised in the church and in my church upbringing, there was a lot of no.  It seemed like church was defined more about what we said no to instead of yes.  We did not want curiosity, we wanted comfort.  I remember thinking, as a kid, there has to be something more.

In high school, I was invited to a new campus ministry that was starting at my high school.  I was the president of our Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Good News Club at the time and I was first approached about helping to start this new thing.  At first I wondered what the catch was and I was hesitant.  But, when we started meeting at my best friend’s house, and I saw so many of my other friends who never went to church show up, I thought there was something to this.  I started to come alive through others seeing me and me being allowed to see them.  Not just a visual seeing, but really an invitation into deeper friendship.  

In short, I didn’t know what I was getting into…but I really enjoyed it and kept going back to this weekly club.  I had many more adventures and by the end of my senior year, I knew that my life was somehow dramatically changing!  It actually changed the trajectory of my life…I went into youth ministry the very next year while at UK and went on to seminary eventually and becoming a pastor…then some other adventures and misadventures in life and in the church…a doctorate and several lives later, here I am with you and Westwood First!  And I am so grateful.  In a few short days as your pastor, I have felt seen and have seen many of you and we are already on to a pathway of deep friendship.  

In our Gospel story, Jesus goes out and personally invites Phillip to hang out with him, to follow him, to enter into deep friendship.  That’s the only time that happens in the New Testament where Jesus personally invites someone.  Pretty wild.  This guy Phillip was kind of a reluctant guy, an over thinker at times, always trying to figure things out (I can relate).  Yet Jesus sought him out.  He was from an area called Bethsaida, not a local boy to Jesus, yet Jesus crossed over this boundary…Jesus seemed to always be crossing the cultural boundaries we’ve constructed…Jesus stayed curious about the “other”…  

Well, Phillip starts following this Jesus guy and starts to get his friends to come along.  Kind of like what many of you do, when you see something good…you may not completely understand it, yet you know you know it is good and want to extend invitations to others.  One friend in particular was Nathaniel.  Phillip goes after Nathaniel and brings him to meet Jesus.  At first Nathaniel wonders if anything good can come out of Nazareth where Jesus was from.  Now this isn’t a put down on Nazareth, it’s probably more like a community rivalry thing.  Kind of like Westwood…or name a neighborhood in Cincy…sometimes there is a bit of hesitation, but we can all come together when there is something curious that we know that we need to check out.  Yet Phillip persists and simply says “come and see”.  In this story, these words are what we call “imperatives” in the Greek translation, a command or invitation.  In this case, it is simply an invitation.  You see, Jesus never forces himself on anyone or tries to sell them on something, he simply invites people to check out what he’s saying and experiencing, what he’s about.

So, Nathaniel does.  Nathaniel was a good guy and Jesus comments on that…but, here’s the kicker, Jesus and Nathaniel had never met.  When Nathaniel asks Jesus how he knows him, Jesus responds that he saw Nathaniel under a fig tree.  Now, Jesus is not some kind of stalker, Jesus wasn’t at that tree.  Yet, he simply noticed Nathaniel from a distance and knew things about him.

This was a BIG indication to Nathaniel that there was something more about this Jesus guy.  It drew Nathaniel in…he didn’t understand it all, but he knew that Jesus was something special.  After Nathaniel’s statement of belief, Jesus says something else, in effect, you haven’t seen anything yet!

Jesus sees us…not just some sense of seeing us from a distance, like when we see a neighbor walking our way…but, really notices us, sees the deeper parts of us…and is drawn to us just as we are drawn to something deeper in Christ.  

You see, what Jesus was inviting Nathaniel, and all of us throughout history, is to follow him into a deeper understanding of ourselves, others, and our communion with the world and one another…we are all a part of the body of Christ, and the church is called to be an alternative community in the middle of the world’s systems.  We are connected to one another and, really, all of of humanity, all made in God’s image, all loved by God and called to live in God’s presence, God’s reign or Kingdom if you will, even as we live within a world dominated by narratives that are more about power, control, or even violence.  My hope is that we will “come and see” this year together what Jesus is doing in our lives and in our community, with our neighbors.  God has already noticed you.  

God wants be with you in the struggle of life…and to “abide” with you in more experiences than you could ever imagine, no matter what age we are…  Friends, I know that this church has taken lots of risks over the past years.  Well, I’m asking us to take some more risks, calculated risks where we are all openly communicating, being transparent and vulnerable and open to one another, to be curious, and to “come and see” what God has in store for us.  Even in our weariness of this past year, and the current events that we find ourselves, let’s take a risk of deepening our relationships with one another, and with a God who is with us and won’t give up on us and has invited us to journey together…and, as we journey together, being open to seeing greater things than we could have ever imagined come to fruition!