17 January 2021

Bible Reading

John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come with me!” (Philip was from Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter lived.) Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” answered Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, “Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!”Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me? ”Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Philip called you.” “Teacher,” answered Nathanael, “you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”Jesus said, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you when you were under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than this!” And he said to them, “I am telling you the truth: you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.

Explanation

Today we hear about two friends who have an unexpected encounter with Jesus, to begin with they react very differently. Together Phillip and Nathanael help each other to understand who Jesus is and they begin a journey to change who they are.

Some of us will be like Phillip, keen to follow straight away and some of us will be like Nathanael, full of wonder. He wonders ‘why would God be interested in me?’ This story shows that wherever we are, Jesus finds us and knows us. Are you more like Phillip or Nathanael, or somewhere in between?

When Phillip sees Jesus and is invited to ‘come with me’ Phillip goes straight to tell Nathanael to encourage him to come and join him on the journey, he wants his friend to be part of this exciting journey. Jesus tells Nathanael that if he goes with him he will see ‘the heavens open’ It’s almost as though by following Jesus, Jesus becomes a window that helps the disciples better see God, where on their own, they wouldn’t be able to see God very well or at all.

Then, as they learn what Jesus is teaching them, the disciples learn how to also become windows that let God’s light shine through them which, in turn, helps even more people be able to see God.

And guess what!? It’s not just the first disciples who could learn to be windows that let God’s light shine into this world.

We, too, can choose to follow Jesus and learn what he taught the disciples about God. As we learn what Jesus taught, then we are learning how to be a window that shines God’s light into the world and helps other people see God better.

Prayer

Dear God, thank you that you sent Jesus to be the disciples window to you. Help us to learn more about you and be a window that shines your light in the world so that other people can see you better. Amen

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