Come and see
Readings: John 1. 43-51
Philip said to him ‘Come and see’
The Epiphany season is all about discovery, about the revealing of who Jesus is to the world. We have it with the Magi coming to see the newborn king, with the revelation that this is God’s Son as the Spirit descends at his baptism.
And now we have his revealing to this first group of disciples as Philip hurries off to tell Nathaniel that they have found the one about whom Moses and the prophets wrote. In other words the one whom both the Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible, and the prophets are speaking of, the one to whom all this has been headed.
Jesus has so far called Andrew & Peter, and now calls Philip to follow him and what does Philip do? He has recognised who Jesus is, although not fully, he doesn’t completely get it yet, but he’s obeyed Jesus call to follow him, has become his disciple, and the first thing he does is goes to invite another to follow Jesus. The immediate response of his discipleship is to become an evangelist.
And we see this often in the wider church in our day don’t we, those who have most recently come to faith are often those who are most keen to share what they have discovered, most vocal about their newfound faith, their newfound relationship with Jesus. It seems that for many over time we become less keen to share as it becomes more familiar, less exciting and new.
And a fortnight ago I was encouraging us to reengage with our faith, to rediscover the wonder of it, like the shepherds, to rediscover the Gospel as good news of great joy. To be like Philip for whom the natural response of discipleship, of knowing Jesus, was going and telling others. But there’s something really interesting about how he tells Nathaniel, he tells him how they have found the Messiah, Nathaniel responds with doubt, and perhaps a little derision, and Philip responds, come and see.
He doesn’t try to persuade him with better arguments, he fulfils this prophecy or that scripture, he simply invites him to come and see. And he doesn’t send him to Jesus, go and see, he invites him with him. There’s this sense that he isn’t so much being invited to meet in individual, but being drawn into the community of those following this man.
From the beginning following Jesus, being a disciple, isn’t a solo sport. There’s never this sense that it’s all about these individuals and their individual relationships with Jesus, it’s always about community, the disciples gathered together around Jesus’ feet listening and learning together. Jesus’ call may go out to individuals, to Peter, Andrew, Philip and now Nathaniel as he comes to him, and whilst it’s always a call to follow him, it’s to do so with others.
This has more often than not been the normal operation of the church throughout history in mission and evangelism. It’s not about big programs or systems or clever slogans. It’s about people who know Jesus, who follow Jesus, sharing him with their friends and family who don’t yet follow Jesus. That simple invitation to come and see.
It’s not about press-ganging them, forcing them to hear about Jesus. There’s this sense from this conversation between Philip and Nathaniel that they’ve both been searching for the Messiah, both been waiting and longing, and Philip thinks he has found him and so tells Nathaniel that their search is over, they’ve found the one for whom they’ve been searching, been longing.
The same is true in our relationships, in our conversations, in our getting to know people, we may discover their longings, their searching’s and realise Jesus is the answer. And because he’s been the answer to the same or similar things in our own lives, we have the opportunity in those moments to say, here’s who I have found, and when they respond with doubt, uncertainty or even derision we can reply, come and see, what have you got to lose?
And in inviting them to come and see, we’re inviting them into the community of those who have seen, who have decided to follow Jesus, who have found life and hope and meaning in him. In other words you’re inviting them into the church. We could print those words of Philip over the door here ‘Come and see’ for that’s what we’re all about. ‘Come and see’.
But that leaves us with an important question doesn’t it. Are we comfortable inviting our friends and family here to come and see? If we find ourselves having a conversation with them and the topic moves onto our faith and the hope we have in Jesus, are we comfortable saying to them, come and see, come with me on Sunday and see what we’re about? Come along to worship and find out?
And if the answer is no, why?
It may be personal reasons, perhaps we see this place as for us and not for them. Perhaps we’re worried they won’t like it, that they’d say no, that they might get odd ideas about us should they come along. If that’s you I want to gently challenge you, that those aren’t really reasons, they’re excuses, reasons to get us out of asking. And if that’s the case it’s important to work those through, work out why we’re so reluctant.
But perhaps the reasons are more concrete. Perhaps we’re reluctant because actually we’re not sure they’d see Jesus in this place. Perhaps we’re worried that the services are dry, that my hymn choice is poor, that the sermons are dull, perhaps you don’t see Jesus here, and if that’s you I’d love to chat with you about that.
Or perhaps you can’t quite put your finger on it but you know you’d invite them along to a Christian event somewhere else but not here. I know I’ve been in churches in the past where quite frankly I wouldn’t have felt comfortable inviting friends along, where I wouldn’t have been entirely comfortable and should they have asked to come would have found myself praying all week that it would go ok. If that’s you, I’d really value a chat about that about what might need to change, big or small, to make this place more inviting to bring people to.
Now this isn’t to say that we can customize our life here to suit ourselves as individuals, to create our dream church, with the perfect music, the perfect preachers, the perfect service formats, because it doesn’t exist. The church will always be messy, always fall short because it’s full of people who are messy, who fall short.
But when we invite people to come and see Jesus, we’re not just inviting them to encounter him in a one to one way, we’re inviting them into a community, into this community among others, we’re enfolding them into the community here as we seek to follow Jesus ourselves. And therefore this community needs to reflect Jesus, mirror him to those who come here, reveal him in our worship, our praise, our engagement with Scripture, our fellowship. If we’re not reflecting Jesus, no wonder we might feel cautious inviting people here to come and see.
Come and see. Here’s the wonderful thing about Jesus in this passage. Whilst he has personally called Peter and Andrew and Philip, there’s no less a sense that he’s calling Nathaniel. It’s Philip who invites him to come and see, it’s Nathaniel who willingly goes to meet Jesus, but in their encounter we discover that Jesus has already had his eye on Nathaniel, that it is no less Jesus drawing him to himself.
Jesus already knows this man, speaks praise of him, assures him that he will see amazing things as he follows Jesus. You see Jesus has already sought out Nathaniel, even before Philip spoke to him. This coming and seeing, we may feel it’s at our volition, that we came and saw, that it’s down to us to invite, and in many ways it is. But it’s Jesus who draws us and others to himself, Jesus who is doing the real work.
So let us be faithful in doing what we can, of ensuring this place truly reflects Jesus, in our praise, our worship, our fellowship, our preaching. Let us do so, so that when the opportunity arises we can joyfully invite them to come and see. And let us leave the rest to Jesus. To the one who is drawing not just people to himself, but a people. Drawing us into community around him. Who calls each by name, that we might find our place within his church. For we did not choose Jesus, but he chose us, and appointed us to bear fruit.
Amen.