Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text for this meditation is written in the 1st Chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 43 – 51:
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 of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
If somebody could tell you something about yourself—a secret—that you thought nobody else could ever know, would you be surprised? In this age of social media, I guess you shouldn't be. After all, anybody with even the most rudimentary of computer skills can go on Facebook, Instagram, Google etc. etc. and find out a fair amount of information about almost anyone. It seems that most people are more than happy to make everyone else's job easy by posting all their most intimate details online for the whole world to see. It is sad to see the feeling of devastation people experience when such information, sometime in the future, causes them to miss out on a scholarship, job or promotion.
With this in mind, the response of Nathanael to Jesus isn't all that strange or out of place, is it? "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" And Nathanael responds no different than you or I probably would: "I'm sorry. Do I know you? How do you know me?" Put yourself in his shoes. Would you be a little suspicious? I can readily admit to you that my first instinct would be to think, "What's going on here?" The fact is though, Nathanael's suspicion was already in play long before he ever laid eyes on Jesus or heard Him make such a bold statement. Remember: Philip is the one who sought out Nathanael in great joy and excitement, relating to him, "We found Him! The one whom the Law and Prophets all wrote about. The Messiah! He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph the carpenter!" And how does Nathanael respond? Probably the same way we would! Hang on! Can anything good; that is, heavenly and righteous, come out of such a place as Nazareth?"
But then Nathanael does something that probably wouldn't sit right with us, given our understanding of people knowing intimate details about our lives. When Jesus displayed His insight by telling Nathanael that He saw him under the fig tree, long before Philip had even arrived to tell him the good news of Christ, how did Nathanael respond? "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" This was a significant and immediate turn-around? Then to follow up with such great and lavish praise for a man he had just met and, as we have seen, was initially sceptical and suspicious of? Was Nathanael being gullible and foolish? We wouldn't be so gullible and blindly accepting, would we?
So why such an abrupt and immediate about-face with Nathanael? The answer is in this text! You see, in Jewish culture the religious leaders taught and encouraged everyone to take some time out of the day—every single day—to find a special quiet place and get into God's Word and pray. We can fairly safely assume that this is exactly what Nathanael was doing when our Lord saw him under the fig tree. Now, who here hasn't read the Scriptures and struggled with the meaning from time to time? Who here hasn't asked God for some help; for a sign? Hopefully, we all have. It's not a bad thing. In his writings Dr. Martin Luther states that this struggling is actually very good and beneficial to the Christian. He professes that there are three things that go into making a faithful Christian and theologian: Oratio (prayer), Meditatio (meditation on God's Word), and Tentatio (suffering / struggling). Prayer leads us to listen to God and His Word. We don't always like what we hear, which causes struggling and suffering, which gets us back talking to God in prayer, which gets us back in His Word – a cycle of enlightening meditation.
Now, John doesn't tell us what was being said or studied under that fig tree when Christ saw Nathanael. He leaves it a special little secret between Jesus and Nathanael. However, do you think that Nathanael could've been struggling with the promise of the Holy Scriptures? "Lord, when is today going to come? We're dying here! When are You going to send Your King; Your Son? Let me see some sign that You're faithful to Your Word!" This was at the forefront of the Jewish believers thinking at that time! Do you see oratio, meditatio, and tentatio at work here?
That profound statement of true, saving faith that explodes out of Nathanael speaks volumes to his true faith and trust in God and the sheer joy in recognising the open door standing before him; the very answer to his prayers and the prayers of all God's faithful people.
And that's where we come in today. You see, nothing has changed! Our Lord and Saviour still hears our prayers. He still sees us and sees our heart, even when we think nobody hears or knows what we're going through; even when we think we're getting away with something and He can't see us. He knows! As scary as this may rightfully be to some of us, there is great Gospel goodness here. God knows us. We are known and loved by Him—intimately, mercifully…Fatherly. He knows our pains and sorrows and worries and cares. He knows what we need to support our body and life and He daily and richly provides us with all this and so much more. He comes to us this very day because of His unconditional love and compassion for us, showing that He is faithful in His promise to us to give us His absolutely free gifts of eternal life and forgiveness and citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven as His child and co-heir; gifts He gives us in His own Word, in the life-giving waters of baptism, and in His own body and blood, that we eat and drink at the alter rail of grace.
My friends in Christ: With this sure and certain faithfulness of God continually being played out before our very eyes, how can we not, like Nathanael, respond in the true faith of God's precious children: "You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
And that's just it. Trust in this Immanuel reality does produce a response; a right and faithful response to God and His gifts. Like Nathanael, when the reality of Christ Jesus is faithfully recognised in our lives, change happens; an abrupt and purposeful about-face. However, this change—this repentant about-face—is not something that can be forced or coerced or legislated. True repentant faith isn't fake or contrived, putting on a good show for everyone else. Faith doesn't require proof before it will change or believe. If it did, it couldn't rightly be called faith.
That's why we're here today. I can't make you faithful. I can't make you repent and believe and rejoice in your absolutely free and unmerited gift of forgiveness because of God's grace alone, which is yours because of Christ alone. I can't make you change. I can, however, point you to the reality of Immanuel—Christ Jesus in our midst, not just here, but always and ever. God is the one who grants us the gift of saving faith; the gift of opened eyes and ears that recognise the reality of God with us; a gift that He gives to us through the hearing of Him and His Word.
It's amazing how often people talk about their struggles whilst recognising Christ in their life. They feel alone. They feel distant and removed and out-of-touch. The very purpose of the means of grace (Word and Sacrament) is to reassure us that Christ is there with us. He's always there with us. Turn around. Turn to Christ. The problem is not that He left us, but that we are frequently headed away from Him. Nobody ever said life is going to be easy, especially Jesus. In fact, He told us to take up our crosses and follow Him. And here is our challenge…we are to follow Him, not usher Him into corners in an attempt achieve our own will.
Brothers and sisters in Christ: Your heavenly Father is faithful to His Word and promise—always and ever. He has sent His one and only begotten Son into this world to live and die for us. Because of Christ Jesus—the King of kings and Lord of lords—we are completely forgiven and redeemed. The kingdom of heaven is open to us and to all who believe in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
May this Good News of the Gospel bring about the faithful, necessary, and lifesaving change in us as it has in all of God's precious children of promise. May our eyes be opened to God's goodness so that we too can see heaven opened—right now—and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, who dwells with us as we speak; in His Word, His body, and His blood. May our eyes be opened to the reality of God with us and miraculously working among us, calling us to turn and follow Him and Him alone, our sole source of light, life, and salvation. To Christ alone be all the honour, praise, and glory. Amen
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond a human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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