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Sermon - The Second Sunday after Epiphany (B)- 18th January 2009
St Aidan's Anglican Church West Epping 8:30am
Readings: John 1:43-51
Our gospel reading today raises the question of the people God uses. We have here John’s account of the calling of Jesus’ disciples. We can assume that Jesus could call whoever he liked or as many as he liked. It was the usual practice of teachers of those days to have two or three disciples. But Jesus doesn’t do that. Jesus chose 12 disciples which was in itself a theological statement. Our previous Prime Minister took his early morning walks with a handful of security men. He never had as many as 12. Twelve looks like a small army. But they also reflect the 12 tribes of Israel. It was Jesus way of declaring that this would be the new Israel under his leadership.
But what kind of people would be called to join this new kingdom?When there is a new American President, he or she can choose their own administration. They can look at all the talent available in the United States and they can choose the best of the best. This new President has taken advantage of that by choosing people from both sides of politics.
So when Jesus chose his disciples what sort of people did he choose? Of course there were people like John and Peter and Matthew who eventually achieved great things in their lives. Looking back from our position we can see why Jesus chose them.
But at the other extreme, Jesus also chose Judas the betrayer. Now we can come to two conclusions here. Either Judas tricked Jesus and was able to hide his true character. Or we can conclude that Jesus chose Judas as a deliberate act, already knowing what the man was capable of. So we have Matthew, Peter and John on the one hand and at the other extreme we have Judas.
So what do we have in the middle? What we have in Philip and Nathaniel. Jesus was searching for disciples from his own area. Andrew, John and Peter were all from the North of Israel. Then Jesus called Philip who was from the area of Bethsaida. What is interesting about Philip was that he had already made up his mind about Jesus. He told Nathaniel that Jesus was the one written about by Moses and all the prophets.
Philip was already convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. And once he was called by Jesus, he went and told his friend Nathaniel.
But we need to ask, “Why would Jesus choose someone like Philip to be a disciple?” It seems an odd choice in that what did Philip have to offer? In the times that he is mentioned throughout the gospels he often seems out of his depth. He seems to be a man of limited ability. When it comes to feeding the 5,000 Philip’s only contribution was to point out that they didn’t have the money to afford to feed everyone. When Greeks came to Philip asking if they could speak to Jesus, Philip responded by referring the question to Andrew. Philip didn’t seem to know what to do.
Then we have that scene at the Last Supper. Jesus had announced that he was going to his father’s house to prepare a place for them. Thomas protested that he didn’t know where Jesus was going or the way to find it. Jesus answered by saying he was the way, the truth and the life. If you knew Jesus then you would know the father as well.
It was at this point that Philip interrupted by saying, “Show us the Father, that will be enough for us.” Its as if everyone around the table gasped. Jesus then turned to Philip with a stern rebuke. “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the father. How can you say, ‘Show us the father!’” After three years of living with Jesus, hearing all the teaching, seeing all the miracles, Philip still could not understand it all. After this incident, it is the last we hear of Philip. In Acts, a deacon is chosen whose name is also Philip. Yet he seems to have a more significant ministry in the establishment of the early church.
And then we have this other character, named Nathaniel. He is not named in the lists of disciples in the other gospels. However, Bartholomew is not mentioned in John’s gospel. So it is possible that Nathaniel was also known at Bartholomew. He was originally dismissive of Jesus. “How can anything good come from Nazareth.” He would expect the Messiah to come from Bethlehem. No doubt he would later discover where Jesus was born.
Philip took Nathaniel to meet Jesus. As soon as Jesus saw him, Jesus declared Nathaniel to be an honest man. Nathaniel was wary. He was not going to allow himself to be flattered, which only shows what an honest man he was. So Nathaniel asked how Jesus could know anything about him. Jesus said he had seen Nathaniel under the fig tree. This was probably significant. Most homes had a fig tree. But it was the custom for Jews to pray under their fig tree.
The fig tree was regarded as a unique gift from God. By praying under the fig tree it was a Jewish way of expressing thanks to God for his goodness and his blessings to Israel. But it also had a future significance. The fig tree was a sign of God’s steadfastness, that God would not forget Israel, that as he had blessed Israel in the past he would do it again sometime in the future. So by praying under a fig tree, it was both an act of worship and a sign of hope for the future.
It may be, that the last time Nathaniel prayed, something of significance had happened. Perhaps he had received a promise of the fulfilment of his prayers. It may be that Jesus is referring to that event. But it had its impact on Nathaniel. He declared Jesus to be both the Son of God and the King of Israel. After this, almost nothing more is known of Nathaniel. He and Philip are both ordinary men caught up in such amazing events.
It is people like this who are included in the twelve alongside the greats and the traitors. These ordinary, unremarkable men also have their place in the work of God. And here John presents them to us as examples of faith – ordinary men who trust in a most extra-ordinary man. Look at the words on their lips – Philip recognises Jesus as the Messiah, Nathaniel calls Jesus, the Son of God, the King of Israel.
And because they recognized and acknowledged the truth about Jesus, they were welcomed among the disciples, they took up their place in the new community, not because of who they were, or what they had achieved, but because they knew who Jesus was and they were prepared to acknowledge that he was their Lord and God.
And when Jesus saw Nathaniel’s faith, he responded with a message of hope. Its as if Jesus is saying, “If you believe because of the fig tree, then you ain’t seen nothing yet. You will see heaven open and angels descending on the Son of Man. In effect Nathaniel will see heaven itself breached. The gap between heaven and earth will be bridged and all the blessings of heaven will come to earth to men and women.
Its as if Jesus is looking forward to the cross, the resurrection and to Pentecost all in one act. The relationship between heaven and earth will be changed, transformed, restored. This is good news to people of faith, no matter how humble, how poor, how insignificant. These blessings will come on all who believe the truth of who Jesus is, the Messiah, the king, the Son of God.