The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
Now that Jesus has been baptized, he seems all set to engage in his public ministry. It is essential to Jesus’ ministry that he begins not with preaching to the crowds, but my calling an individual. While we often are tempted to think of ministry in terms of groups, numbers, and crowds, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is the call to an individual. Then there is the first request: follow me. What that means I’m still working out. Certainly it is at least a combination of action and belief, of practice and theory. To follow means to walk a certain way. Philip will have lots of opportunity to live out his vocation in community, and in relationship to others, but at the very beginning it is a specific and personal call from Jesus. The call from Jesus does not remain a “private” event in Philip’s life. Instead, in response to the personal call from Jesus, Philip finds himself proclaiming this Jesus to others:
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip 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." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
While thinking about the atheist bus campaign in Britain (and soon, we hope, coming to Canada), I can’t help but think that Philip’s invitation to Nathanael is a bit of a model response. Nathanael is skeptical, and Philip simply offers an open invitation: “Come and see.” This kind of invitation differs from Jesus’ direct call to Philip. And I think there is perhaps a lesson there: the way in which Christ called me is not necessarily the way in which He will ask me to invite someone else into the kingdom. Philip, it seems, responded to a direct “command” if you will; while Nathanael responded to an open-ended invitation.
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
This seems to me the heart of Nathanael's experience: he realizes that he is "known" by Jesus.
Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." And 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."
lunch is calling... will pick it up later
The call from Jesus does remain a “private” event in Philip’s life.
Was that meant to read 'does not remain a private event'?
Posted by: Tim | January 16, 2009 at 03:40 PM
Probably. Thanks Tim. Lunch beats language every time.
Posted by: joseph | January 16, 2009 at 04:44 PM