Being Found - Thoughts for Epiphany 2

We continue our time in Epiphany hearing the stories of Jesus finding Nathaniel, and elderly Eli helping young Samuel hear and respond to God’s voice. Epiphany is this time of the church year when we pay particular attention to how God is revealed in the Jesus. We are invited to read our stories in that light.

John’s gospel is so different from the other three synoptics. This gospel is all about helping us see the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. See God in Jesus is the central theme. Seeing and following. Within that John 1: 43-51 is a weird little story. Later in John there is another weird little story when Greeks come to Andrew, and then Philip and Nathaniel to see Jesus. It all jars with discontinuity. There seems to be a lot of back story missing. Maybe that is the point. To draw our attention to what is happening.  So, what is happening?

Through Philip Jesus finds Nathaniel, and he becomes a representative of Israel. Jesus does that, finds people. Nathaniel is an Israelite without guile, unlike the first “Israel”, Jacob, who was full of guile and deceit, and who saw visions of angels on ladders. Nathaniel will see those angels at Jesus crucifixion and resurrection.  Nathaniel’s response to being found is to apply titles to Jesus, rabbi, King of Israel, son of God. Son of God is a term for one with a close relationship with God. In the Hebrew Bible, “Son of God” refers to someone commissioned with a divine task. This is not trinitarian language here.

Lastly Nathaniel was suspicious of Jesus. He was not from the right place. Last week we heard of the Magi, Persian Zoroastrian priests, being the ones who recognised Jesus’ birth in the stars. The powerful and educated elite were ignorant. We will hear this week of God speaking hard words to a young boy Samuel. The revelation of God comes from surprising places. Where have been the surprising places we have been found