Well, it’s time to get back on track.

We have—I know this is shocking—we have strayed and veered from the narrative lectionary for over a month now. So it’s time to return to our habit of following the narrative lectionary. This year, the gospel is the Gospel according to John. And, as we will find out throughout the year, John’s a little bit different than the other gospel writers. And that’s a good thing.

So, we read part of the first chapter of John before Christmas and on Christmas Eve, and we will continue now with John chapter 1, verses 35 to 51: 

John 1:35-51

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). 

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 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.” 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!” 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.”For the Word of God in scripture,

For the Word of God among us,
For the Word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.

***

Come and see.

That has been the theme of our capital campaign, which started nearly two years ago. It’s the invitation that Jesus gives to his first disciples in John’s Gospel. They are seeking the Messiah, and when they find Jesus, they don’t want to lose him. So they ask, “Where are you staying?” And instead of simply saying, “Well, I’m staying down there in that village,” Jesus offers up an invitation:

Come and see.

Then a little later, Philip echoes the invitation when Nathanael doubts that the Messiah—or anything good—can come out of Nazareth. To Nathanael’s skepticism and cynicism, Philip shares the invitation that Jesus first offered him:

Come and see.

It is this same open-ended invitation that inspired us to make our building not only more accessible and welcoming but intentionally inviting. As stewards of Christ’s generous and gracious invitation, our job is to make sure that we don’t get in the way.

Like Nathanael, right? With his doubts and biases.

Removing physical barriers is important because it provides real access to people who need it. But it also serves as a reminder that we need to continually check those interior barriers that we may carry with us, which may keep us from extending the gracious invitation of Christ to all—which is what we celebrate on Epiphany later this week.

Typically, on the Sunday closest to Epiphany, we recount the story of the Magi following the star, bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. We read how the Magi visit Herod, supposing that such an important birth would take place somewhere special. Meanwhile, Herod is very interested to learn of this baby some are saying will replace him. So Herod tells the Magi to come back once they’ve found him and report on his whereabouts. But they choose to return home by another way after being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. And then consequently, Jesus and Mary and Joseph flee from Judea to Egypt to escape danger.

In 1952, Pope Pius XII said, “The Holy Family of Nazareth fleeing into Egypt is the archetype of every refugee family. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph living in exile in Egypt to escape the fury of an evil king. For all times and all places, the models and protectors of every migrant, alien, and refugee of whatever kind, who whether compelled by fear or persecution or by want, is forced to leave his native land, his beloved parents, relatives, his close friends, and to seek foreign soil.” Now, not everyone agrees with this analogy.

Esau McCaulley writes, “Some critics accuse us of using a central element of the Christian story for political ends, when we should be focusing on singing our hymns and saying our prayers instead. But eyes are not so easily closed,” he writes.

And this is on the front of your bulletin:

“The incarnation of the Son of God as human ties him to all other human stories.
If God is going to take up residence with humanity, then surely his narrative touches all other narratives. What God has joined together, we cannot allow man to tear asunder.”

He continues:

“The Christian narrative does not and cannot create a specific immigration policy. That’s not its goal. Its purpose was to reveal God’s humility, his fragility, so that all might gather around him and worship for a while. At the same time, we can’t ignore that in introducing himself, God also revealed the kinds of people he wants his followers to attend to—the neglected and pushed-aside people of the world. You cannot worship a vulnerable God and smash hurting people in his name. That is blasphemy.”

So this year we have an Epiphany mashup of sorts.

You all know what a mashup is, right? It’s when they take two songs and blend them together.

This year, we are reading John’s telling of the first disciples being called, with Jesus’ words: Come and see. And at the same time, it is Epiphany, and the story of the Magi following the star is seared into our collective consciousness.

Now, when we put these two stories together, I think we get a pretty cool invitation for the new year: Come and see. Come and see how much God loves us. And come and see the people that God calls us to love and protect as well.

In just a moment, we will gather around the Lord’s Table, where we taste and see that the Lord is good—where we are reminded that we are one human family, all deserving of love and grace.

As you come forward, you are also invited to pick up a star which is on the table. Each star has a word on it. That word will be your star word for 2026.

May the word that you pick guide you in new and unexpected ways in the new year, and may it be a year of love and justice for all—a year where, like Philip, we echo the invitation of Christ: Come and see.

Amen.

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