December 14, 2022 – Devotions to Prepare Us For Christ’s Coming

 ^“Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see”.  John 1:44-46

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. After being called by Jesus, Philip 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, are we prepared 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 – and preparation as well. Once again, we need to take time in Advent to see what ways we still need to prepare for the coming of Christ.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, it is important for us to be prepared to welcome people with the openness that we hope and trust Christ welcomes us. Come Lord Jesus and be our guest and prepare us to welcome others as guests. Amen.

Pastor Dave