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Gospel: John 1: 43-51
Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip.
And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Philip found Nathanael and told him,
“We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,
and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
But Nathanael said to him,
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this.”
And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I’m sure many of us could count on one hand the number of arguments we’ve won with words.
Maybe none.
These days, there’s often an unwritten rule in social circles: do not speak about politics, religion, or even COVID, unless everyone present already agrees.
Arguments are rarely won with words.
What changes a person’s perspective is personal experience.
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In today’s Gospel, Philip tells his friend, Nathanael, that he’s found Jesus, the one whom all of the prophets have foretold!
Nathanael doesn’t believe him. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” he says skeptically, as if he’s picking a fight.
Instead of arguing with him, Philip simply says, “Come and see.”
Nathanael needs that personal experience with Jesus before he can change his mind and, ultimately, believe.
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I’m sure we all know someone like Nathanael, who’s lacking faith in God, faith in the Church, or both.
Lofty arguments are unlikely to persuade them; what we can do is invite them to, “Come and see.”
After all, it’s written into our parish vision statement! (“We are all generations journeying together with Jesus to satisfy our hungry hearts. Come and see!”)
We invite people here. Then, like Philip, we leave the rest to Jesus.
I’ve seen it happen many times: the love that people experience in our community does, in fact, convert minds and hearts.
“Come and see!”
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Image credits: (1) Christ Church United Methodist (2) Matt’s Bible Blog, WordPress (3) Hampton Roads Church