lost and found.

Sermon based on John 1: 43-51. Second Sunday after Epiphany. YR B. January 17, 2021

Epiphany is the season of God revealing God’s self in Jesus.  I like to call it the “AHA” season of the church.  The coming out of Jesus – revealed in the world.  But it’s more than that. It’s an invitation to let Jesus be revealed in and through us.  To let the light of Christ shine for all the world to see.

In the first chapter of the book of John, we are witness to Jesus’ calling of his first disciples. Verses earlier in the chapter, Jesus calls Peter and Andrew to come and follow him.  Immediately the next day the text tells us, Jesus found Philip and Philip then finds Nathanael and declares to him – we have found the One whom the prophets wrote about – he’s Jesus of Nazareth!  Lots of finding going on here!

But a skeptical Nathanael pushes back and says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” to which his good friend Philip replies, “Come and see!”  See for yourself!  I can envision, Philip grasping his friend’s arm and leading him out to see Jesus. 

Now Nathanael was an “Everyday Man.”  He was a fisherman who lived in Cana in Galilee which was a competing fishing town with Nazareth, which might help explain Nathanael’s somewhat sarcastic response to Philip.  But what we also know about Nathanael is that he was a Jewish man living under the influence of Hellenism – the Greco-Roman world.  As a “outsider” Israelite he learned to keep his head down and out of trouble.  He didn’t want to be recognized or found by anyone in power. Which is why I think that at first, when Jesus calls him out, I’m guessing that he was less than thrilled, and maybe even a bit fearful. Perhaps this is the dreaded identity he wanted to avoid…. Except it’s Jesus calling him out!  For the first time, Nathanael is the one being seen by a fellow Israelite – Jesus!  It is here that the light of Christ shines in and through Nathanael as he declares, “You are the Messiah!” He knows that he is truly being seen – not just on the outside face to face, but heart to heart!  This is Nathanael’s AHA moment!

AHA moments are not one-off events. Nor is any encounter with Jesus.  Rather, we’re talking about a transformational event where life as he knew it, would never be the same. Nathanael, who was lost is now found by his Maker and is being called into a deeper relationship and experience with God.  Nathanael and Philip and Andrew and Peter, soon to be joined by 7 others were all lost and found, and now embarking on a relationship with Jesus that would change their lives forever.  

The same is true for you and me.  Once we were lost, but then we were found in the splashing of the holy waters in our baptism – a true AHA moment that changed our lives forever! God is revealed in us! The very God who created us, saves us from being lost and then calls us into a deeper relationship – one that reveals the light of Christ in and through us for all the world to see!

We can all identify with extreme lost-ness around us. Some more than others.  In a world that is broken and suffering, some days are so darkened with angst, confusion, fear, disappointment, sadness, lonliness and even hatred that it can be hard to see the light shining through. I know that I can sound like a broken record of doom and gloom. Yet I believe and know that goodness is at this world’s very core because our Maker created this world out of love and FOR love.  And this same Love promises healing, reconciliation and justice – nothing short of a transformation through God’s son Jesus.  God sees us and God sees the pain and the suffering. 

A friend of mine expressed recently to me and others in a cohort of pastors her deep angst.  Her grief and loss during these challenging days is so great that she cannot even see or hear God. She reads scripture and finds nothing.  She prays and God is silent.  She is not alone.  Our young people who are trying to figure out a faith of their own are asking if God even exists. Fear and anxiety are heightened as the darkness seems to pervade.  In a time in my life when I was feeling particularly lost and unable to pray with confidence, a little 80-year-old nun told me, “It’s okay,” that she was praying for me. The body of Christ is to be just that.  Light for each other.  When I cannot pray, when I cannot find God, when I think God doesn’t want to find me, others are there to do the heavy praying on my behalf.

In this text, I am reminded of God’s promise to keep seeking me and all of us whether we are lost or not, or whether we are even seeking God, because I believe that God hears our cries and identifies with our loss.  It’s there in the midst of the darkness, that God calls us into the light. MLK JR once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness.  Only Light can do that.  Hat cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. 

So my, friends, “Come and See!” Come and discover this light that shines not only in us, but through us for all the world to see that hope peace joy and love has come. 

Maybe that’s the significance of the fig tree. In Hebrew scripture, the fig tree is a symbol of shalom – peace.  May Jesus find us all under the umbrella of peace and invite each of us to walk as a child of the light, where in him there is no darkness at all, the day and night are both alike. For the lamb is the light of the city of God.  Now, Lord Jesus, reveal yourself in and through me for all the world to see. Shine in my heart Lord Jesus. Amen.