Welcome and Wanted - The 2nd Sunday after Epiphany
Author: Pastor Carolyn Hetrick
January 14, 2024
Of all the moments in my life as
a follower of Jesus, there is one outside of my baptism that I have come to see
as perhaps the most important. I was new in town, and didn’t make friends all
that easily, being skinny, awkward, not athletic and wearing glasses. But one day another person not all that different
from me, befriended me. After we’d been friends for awhile, she asked me to
come and see her church’s Wednesday night program- dinner and activities
started after school until about 7:00 at night. I was a mix of excitement for
what might be, but also a little bit of skepticism because my family had
stopped doing the church thing. And I wasn’t sure that the welcome would be for
real. It could’ve gone in either direction. I discovered that I was not only
welcome, I was wanted. That is a difference I will come back to, but first… for
the little girl who had adored church, but had been longing for something that
didn’t seem to be happening, it was like Jesus found me. Again. And it was even
better than I imagined.
My friend was not exactly
someone people would naturally seek out to join. Her mom was divorced, back
when that still created talk; a little too direct. They didn’t have a lot of
money and she had to work hard. But Jesus had found them and drew them close.
Now my friend had been used by Jesus, not unlike Phillip was for Nathanael.
Jesus had called Phillip to “follow” and “come and see.” Now Phillip followed
Jesus by finding Nathanael. And when he was skeptical, just said, “Come and
see.” It wasn’t that Nathanael didn’t believe in God, it was that what he was
hoping for, a Messiah, hadn’t happened. Nathanael almost missed out because
Jesus didn’t seem like he ought to at first. But is it any surprise given that
Jesus, “God with Us” has been showing up in all the unexpected places and
seeking out all the unexpected people all along? What I love about this gospel
is that Jesus was the one doing the finding. And even when Nathanael wasn’t
quite so sure, Jesus sticks around to help him to see what God wants him to
see.
The lives of those first
disciples would be full of ups and downs, just like ours. They need Jesus to
keep showing up and finding them to remind them who God is and who they are
when it has seemed so hard to hold onto that truth. It can be easy to become
disillusioned or skeptical sometimes. Maybe you are like me and there have been
times when you haven’t followed Jesus so closely.
But I realize it is not that I
haven’t believed in Jesus. It is that the way we sometimes live out faith
community make it hard to see Jesus is with us. And the way the world around us
sees believing in Christ can make it hard to see the real presence of God in
our midst and our world.
My journey has been one of Jesus
finding me again and again and reminding me to come and see again. And while
there have been other people Jesus has used, and there have been sacred moments
of just me and God, there is the “one.” The transformational moment where I was struggling and not seeing Jesus
where someone not only invited me to come and see, but when I showed up, the
way of that community of faith was different. It was loving and it was patient
and it was affirming. That church too had many flaws, but I remember the day I
most saw Jesus right there calling me into love. And whenever I have struggled,
I remember the time someone helped me see the God who loves me at a time I most
needed it. Many times churches will say “All are Welcome” so much so that it
can be hard to take it seriously because it is sort of an expected thing to
say. Or sometimes looks more like, “we will tolerate.”
What is transformational good
news in Jesus’ ministry and is being sought out and “wanted.” This is what
Jesus communicated across his earthly ministry- you are wanted, desired by God.
The God who created you, sees you under the fig tree so to speak, and loves you
so much that Jesus will come to find you over and over again, and stick around
through all of your wonders and fears and angers and doubts. Will love you
through all of your biases and flaws so that you can continue to follow in the
more grace filled way of Christ.
And in all of Jesus’ earthly
ministry, the total number of believers would be completely eclipsed by what
became the church as Jesus used so many guide others to “come and see and
follow.”
If you have been struggling to
see your worth, your belovedness, your gifts, Jesus is here right now to find
you just like Phillip. If you are finding hope, or peace or trust hard to
grasp, Jesus will take the time to accompany you just like Nathanael.
And I hope and pray we will
continue to follow and create spaces that tells anyone who comes here for any
reason- You are not only welcome, you are wanted. How we think, and speak and
act out “You are wanted” meets a fundamental longing in a world that is often
focused upon things and people being disposable, or cancelled or just
statistics. Really following Jesus by showing others they are wanted is a lot
more work. It is personal and intentional and messy.
And it is heartbreakingly
beautiful.
There are lots of spaces where I
see this lived out among you all, where we remind people they are seen and
loved by God and by us. It happens when we create a loving environment for
people who live with disability, when we embrace people no matter who they love
or where they are on their journey. And it happens every time we distribute
food in our parking lot where our whole team works to create a space that fills
the hungry with good things. Jesus shows up not just with food, but a smile,
and the grace of not having to justify your need. We follow Jesus I patience
and prayer. We ask people how they are and ask if there is something we can
pray for. Those who come often will follow up with the outcome. Some who once
said “no thank you” realize we mean it and begin to trust they can share their
hearts desires and worries. Recently a man I have chatted with for months told
me he used to always be so angry, but something finally led him to talk to
someone about it and now he can’t believe he is so happy. He excitedly
introduced me to a friend who struggles that he is helping so that his friend
doesn’t have to wait so long to be happy like he did because he was skeptical
of help. We gave thanks to God and pray for the road ahead. Jesus found him,
and he found a friend and he knew that when he came here to the corner of
Beaver and Garner, those of us who follow Jesus we would want to know.
And there it is- Come and see,
follow me. Jesus is here to find you and remind you that the good news is even
better than you thought.
And maybe you will be the one
who helps someone see him too.
Gospel Text: John 1:43-51
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He
found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from
Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip 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.” 46Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no
deceit!” 48Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip
called you.” 49Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King
of Israel!” 50Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw
you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Copyright Rev. Carolyn K. Hetrick, 2024 All
rights reserved. May not be reproduced in whole or in part without written
permission.
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