December 17, 2016 – 7 Days Until My Head Explodes, Or Devotions to Prepare Us For Christ’s Coming

“Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One whom the prophets foretold — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.…” John 1:44-46

Do you see the shoes on this ornament? Those are extraordinary shoes, right? Perhaps the shoes are a counter-balance to the hat – or the fact that this poor fellow (or lady) has the body shape of a star – standing on flamingo legs. Because of the star shape, you would think this guy would be on the top of the tree – but he must have done something wrong to end up buried somewhere on the bottom.

We have the calling of the disciples in this part of John, Jesus selecting people who are at the bottom of society. Here we have the conversation between Philip and Nathanael. Philip, after being called by Jesus, first goes to tell Nathanael about his experience with Jesus. We do not know any of the conversation between them except for Nathanael’s comment about what good can come out of Nazareth. It seems like a negative comment, but Philip’s response is very ordinary and matter-of-fact: “Come and See.” We can learn a lot from this short exchange. First and foremost, Philip becomes the first evangelist, going forward to share what has happened to him in his encounter with Jesus. And, even in the face of severe rejection, Philip persists with compelling words – come and find out for yourself. It doesn’t take a lot of fancy words to invite people to come and experience the good news of Jesus Christ. Simple words of invitation will do – and may speak volumes to those who just need a simple invitation.

But the invitation is just the beginning. Once we have invited people to come to church with us to come and see Jesus, we have to allow them to take the next step – actually becoming involved in the ministries of the church. Following Jesus is one thing – becoming a disciple takes courage on their part – and courage on our part too. It is important for the health of the congregation that people not only feel welcome to visit, but welcome to stay and become involved in the life of the church.

Pastor Dave