For a change we have two readings this Sunday, one from John’s Gospel and the Old Testament reading from the Book of Genesis. They are linked most obviously by the vision of angels, ascending and descending, and also by the acknowledgements both Jesus and Joseph receive.
The theme of the Season of Epiphany is manifestations of Jesus to the world, hence our first hymn, which lists the different ways that Jesus is shown to the world - first to the Wise Men, then in the Baptism by John, then in the Miracle at Cana in Galilee, then in the healing of the sick and diseased, finally at the end of time. Today’s ‘manifestation’ is to Philip and Nathaniel, who are among his first disciples. They are swept away by his knowledge of them, even though they have never seen him before. This encounter with Jesus spurs the pair on to want to find out more and to follow him. It is hard for us at this distance to experience the magnetism of Jesus to those whom he met, but it is clearly there even in John’s mystical prose. Nathaniel is captivated by Jesus. Somehow we have to recapture that power and strengthen our link to Jesus, the ‘King of Israel’. What Nathaniel sees in Jesus holds him to the end. Some writers have even suggested that Nathaniel is the Beloved Disciple and not John the Evangelist. Who knows? What is important for us is to seek to develop our relationship with Jesus even over the two thousand years the have passed since this meeting took place. The reading from Genesis also shows a chance meeting. This time it is with God and the heavenly host, while Jacob is running away from the consequences of his actions in cheating his brother of his inheritance and his father’s blessing. His story will be a long tale of Jacob learning what it feels like to be cheated himself and to be tricked into marriage with the wrong sister! He learns to find his way through the politics of his extended family to the point where he can face his cheated brother once more and be forgiven. Genesis is a book full of family issues and conflict. Through it all God is there, supporting and encouraging, even though the humans he favours cannot always see it. What we can take away from the story of Jacob is that God uses some pretty poor material to form one of the Patriarchs, one of Jesus’ ancestors. Jacob is a pivotal figure in the history of the Jewish people, Jesus’ people. He is an encouragement to us all, even if he is a pretty slippery character for a lot of the time. Jesus alludes to that when he describes Nathaniel as an ‘Israelite without guile’. In both these readings we have a sense of the supernatural that is just a little way away from us. Jacob sees God in a dream and responds to it. He sets up and altar with the stone he has been using as a pillar. In John’s Gospel, we always have the sense that Jesus sees more than we see, that he is in touch with God in a way that we cannot really understand. God sees into Jacob’s heart and knows that, given time and experience, he will be able to make a Patriarch of him. It is the same with Jesus - he sees into Nathaniel’s heart and sees what he will be able to do with him. Let us pray that Jesus will continue to take our lives and make something beautiful with them for God. Eternal God, our beginning and our end: bring us with the whole creation to your glory, hidden through past ages and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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AuthorCanon John Green Archives
May 2021
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