In our gospel reading for today, Jesus calls Philip to follow him. And Philip is so excited, he finds his friend Nathanael, and tells him all about Jesus the Messiah. Nathanael is sceptical, because there have been false Messiahs before. But Jesus brings Nathanael, and us, to faith in himself, by knowing us, and by giving us just the experience we need, to trust in him....
I got a phone message a while back from someone who said they were with my credit card company. There was a charge that had gone through for over a thousand dollars to Amazon, and that if it wasn't me, I needed to press 1 and speak with her. For a very brief second, the thought went through my head, “who hacked my credit card, and how could this person help me resolve it, so that I don't have to pay this charge?” But then I remembered she called the LAND LINE phone, and I always communicate with my credit card company on my CELL phone. She didn't use my name in the message once, and she didn't even state WHICH credit card company she was with. So I remained sceptical – this lady was NOT my Messiah – she did NOT know me, and she did NOT know my credit situation; I was just some random sucker she was trying to exploit.
Nathanael in our gospel reading might have been just as sceptical upon hearing Philip's story. For one thing, it's a big stretch that someone like Philip would have found the Messiah, and it's more of a stretch that someone like Philip would have been invited to follow him, and it's even more of a stretch that this Messiah would come from Nazareth – nothing good ever comes from Nazareth! If not for Philip's raw excitement and his non-threatening invitation to “come and see”, Nathanael might have assumed that Jesus was just another false Messiah looking for some random sucker like Philip to exploit.
This same kind of scepticism is rampant in our society, and for good reason! E-mails that you must not open, telephone calls where they make demands using your grandchild's own voice, fake card readers that can steal your banking information – the opportunities for fraud and exploitation are widespread. And many people put religion in general, and Christianity in particular, in the same category as these scams – just another attempt at exploitation. We'll tell you that you have a massive problem – sin – and then we'll tell you that we have the only solution - Jesus. And whatever price we charge you will be well worth it, for the grand prize of something called eternal life. All that religion offers, according to these sceptical people, is another false Messiah. And being burned by false Messiahs is an almost universal human experience. We thought Messiahs like alcohol, drugs, and gambling were going to save us from our boring routine, and give our lives excitement and new experiences – instead, it made us physically dependant and damaged goods. We thought the oil patch was going to rescue us from all our worries about money – instead, it encouraged us to overextend ourselves and now has proven itself less than reliable. We thought the government was going to deliver us from....well, practically every bad consequence imaginable, including rampant inflation – instead, government made us passive and dependant and compliant, and left us with feelings of entitlement and grandchildren who will be debt-slaves their whole lives. And with each Amazon purchase, we thought the cool stuff we bought was going to save us from that blah feeling of emptiness – but the blah feeling always came back, and so did the credit card bill. EVERY Messiah that our society turns to, is looking for some anonymous sucker to exploit. And so, when we tell them about Jesus THE Messiah and how he sacrificed himself for us – that as a result we can turn back to God and receive forgiveness, live an abundant life now, AND have life after death with God forever – it sounds FAR too good to be true. It sounds like something a salesman from Nazareth might say.
So how does Jesus overcome this scepticism? In today's reading, Jesus shows that he KNOWS the ones coming toward him – he knows Simon, he knows Simon's character, he knows Simon's destiny to become the Cephas, the rock on which he builds his church. He knows Nathanael, he knows Nathanael's character, he knows Nathanael's weaknesses and circumstances. Simon and Nathanael are NOT anonymous! Jesus knows exactly what they need, because HE put them together in their mothers' wombs. In truly knowing Simon, Jesus gives him precisely the experience he needs, a vision for his life as a follower of Jesus. And in truly knowing Nathanael, Jesus gives him precisely the experience he needs – he proclaims to him precisely where he was standing - so that Nathanael can have confidence in his Messiah.
Jesus has done the same for us. Even before we came to Jesus – as an infant or an adult or anywhere in between – Jesus knew us. He knows us the way a designer KNOWS his own creation, way beyond how well WE know ourselves. He knows our character, he knows our circumstances, he knows our weaknesses, he knows our sins. And yet, Jesus still seeks us out and chooses us. And then, Jesus gives US experiences, so that we can have confidence in him. We all share the experience of the power of the gospel, the story of his sacrifice on the cross, for all of us. Jesus endured something too horrible for words, so that we could have something that seems, too good to be true.
But then, knowing everything about us, Jesus gives us more experiences designed to build both our collective AND INDIVIDUAL faith in him. Many of us have experienced how our grandparents and parents and church friends have trusted in Jesus. Many of us have experienced low times, where we rely on Jesus, and he comes through and delivers us. And many of us have experienced high times, where we find ourselves blessed in surprising and overwhelming ways. There are the interesting times, where we feel his guidance through the turbulence. And there will be the end times, where we are comforted with his presence, and the knowledge that we will soon see him face to face. As we go through these experiences designed just for us, we are reassured, and we respond by saying, “you ARE the Son of God.” And as we go through these experiences, we feel the excitement that leads us to invite our neighbours to “come and see.”
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for knowing us and choosing us, and in spite of our sins, enduring the cross for us. Build up our faith through your Word to us, and through your presence in our lives, so that we can accept and share the great gift you have given us. Transform us and guide us by your Holy Spirit, so that we can expand your kingdom, in your name, amen.