Ferguson, MO Time magazine photo

Ferguson, MO Time magazine photo

 

John 1:43-51
Good morning, St. Stephen’s!
On this youth Sunday in August our gospel introduces us to the apostle known as Nathaniel or Bartholomew.
Nathaniel(Bartholomew) begins our gospel with no knowledge about who Jesus really is and unaware of Christ’s power to save and change anything or anyone. Though Nathaniel(Bartholomew) has a closed heart and a closed mind, his friend Philip is a believer and a positive motivating force in this scripture. Philip knows and loves Jesus and naturally wants to share his faith with Nathaniel (Bartholomew); so in the gospel of John chapter one verse 45, it is written that “PHILIP found Nathaniel(Bartholomew) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'”
Philip enourages Nathaniel(Bartolomew) to come see about Jesus and shares his belief about the fulfillment of God’s promise that he had found in the man known as Christ. Philip proclaims the good news to a friend who was otherwise lost –And as Philip seeks out this sinner to follow him as he follows Christ, he exerts positive peer pressure on his friend to turn to the Lord above all else that was going on at the time. In this gospel, brothers and sisters, Philip shows us a great example of how awesome it can be for us believers to share our faith and reach out to our peers to expand the body of Christ. The old adage that sheep produce sheep rings true for Phillip and for all believers as God’s kingdom expands as friends of Christ speak up about Jesus in their friend-groups and social circles across time, place and space to the glory of God the Father.
Indeed Philip shares the good news of how great the Lord Jesus is, yet though Philip convinces Nathaniel (Bartholomew) to physically go and see Jesus, only God can open the closed heart that Nathaniel (Bartholomew)has at the begining of his existence. Though Philip and all believers have the right and responsibility to uplift and encourage friends to consider Christ, acceptance of Christ is a different matter that is only between God and the individual believer. –Free will holds true with matters of faith so; Not even Moses, the greatest prophet of the law and torah, could convince Pharaoh to accept God while he willingly held onto the hardness of his heart.
No one can force anyone else to have the open-heart to believe in God… SO, the ultimate decision to choose Christ and accept God’s presence was out of Philip’s hand. Nathaniel (Bartholomew) had remained reluctant to accept the Lord into his heart until he meets Christ for himself. In fact, the hard heart of Nathaniel (Bartholomew) is made clear in John’s gospel this morning. Although Philip convinces Nathaniel (Bartholomew) to meet Jesus of Nazareth, Nathaniel (Bartholomew) betrays his coldness towards Jesus of Nazareth in John chapter one, verse forty-six with the hateful question: “”Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
After a statement like that, it is clear that Nathaniel(Bartholomew) is not afraid to speak his mind and be real about his feelings. In proclaiming his close-hearted skeptism about Jesus and his hometown, Nathaniel (Bartholomew) shows that he can “keep it one hundred” at all times and he also proves that he does not hide or disguise his beliefs. By verse 47 of the first Chapter of John, even Jesus respectfully notes the honesty of Nathaniel (Bartholomew). The gospel explains that “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
In this instance, JESUS engages the realness of Nathaniel (Bartholomew) and Nathaniel (Bartholomew) in turn engages the realness of Jesus. Simultaneously as Jesus publically acknowledges Nathaniel (Bartholomew) as a truth-telling force to be reckoned with; Nathaniel ultimately realizes that he has encountered a Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. When the two individuals truly consider one another, and Jesus prophesizes over the spiritual integrity of Nathaniel (Bartholomew), the skeptic is transformed into a believer as his heart opens to the savior who has welcomed him with open arms. By chapter one verse 49 of John’s gospel, Nathaniel (Bartholomew) himself declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
The power of respect and truth allows Nathaniel to be saved and accept Jesus into his heart. And especially in this day and age, we need more encounters of respect and truth to save and transform our world.The question raised by Nathanael(Bartholomew) is truly revelatory and real to this day:
can anything good come from Nazareth?
If we re-phrase it for our time, the power of the question might be more understood if we ask ourselves”
Can anything good come from Brooklyn, NY? or even more chillingly
can anything good come from Ferguson, Missouri?
We see and read about absurd tradgedies each day such as people being killed by the very same people who are paid to protect them. We operate within world systems so unjust that people who merely protest are met with riot gear, tear gas, and negative media propaganda.
And In time where people lie, kill and rob one another of the goodness promised to us in the gospel, the power of seeking and uplifting the truth to power is as much a saving grace to us as it was for Nathaniel(Bartholomew).
In the words of the great Spirtual ANTHEM, “lIFT eVERY vOICE AND SING” by James Weldon Johnson:
“we have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
we have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
(Yet) out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last”
And we can stand stronger than ever knowing that we fight the good fight of faith started by Jesus and continued by martyrs and champions of Justice like philip(Bartholomew), as well as Dr. Martin Luther King and community organizer Ella BAker.
The blood of Jesus, Bartholomew, Dr. King and even the teenage victim of police execution Mike Brown was not shed in vain as long as we bear witness to God’s power to transform, heal and save while the kingdom of love and justice continues to manifest itself on Earth as it is in heaven.
Let us raise our voices, open our hearts, and transform ourselves and this world one friend at a time, one neighbor at a time, one heart a time, and one day at a time.

In the name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit.