{"id":19370,"date":"2024-01-08T10:36:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T09:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=19370"},"modified":"2024-01-08T10:36:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T09:36:43","slug":"john-141-53","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/john-141-53\/","title":{"rendered":"John 1:41-53"},"content":{"rendered":"

Second Sunday after the Epiphany | January 14, 2024 | John 1:41-53 | David H. Brooks |<\/h3>\n

When I was a kid, I was a big fan of the television show Captain Kangaroo. <\/em>I always looked forward to watching the show, and, although I didn\u2019t realize it at the time, I was soaking up the wisdom that the dear old Captain and his crew dispensed. Years later, when I had a child, I, remembering what I had been taught, instructed my little one in the power of two little, yet magical, words: thanks<\/em>, and please<\/em>. \u00a0These two words can accomplish amazing things, and the wise do well to use them.<\/p>\n

While they are not magical, there are two little words in our Gospel text today that are very important: find,<\/em> and see<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This short story about Jesus, Philip and Nathaniel is all about finding. It begins with Jesus finding Philip. After all, it is Jesus that decides to go to Galilee and because of his decision he finds Philip. Philip does not find Jesus, and so his statement to Nathaniel might be better rendered as \u201cwe have discovered, come across, stumbled on\u201d the Messiah \u2013 which might explain Nathaniel\u2019s skepticism. It would be similar to your loved one coming to you saying, \u201cI found this in the back of the fridge…do you want some?\u201d The fact that Jesus goes out and finds people is a bit odd in his day, just as it would be odd in ours. You may go and find a teacher because that teacher knows something that you want to learn. Jesus goes and finds students because he has something he wants to teach.<\/p>\n

So why does this matter? I want you to remember this story and what happens in it, because everything that follows, whether in the story John tells or in the story that unfolds here, among us now\u2014it happens because Jesus wants it to happen.\u00a0 You may be sitting here hoping that you will find something useful for your life. But for any of us, it is more about discovery, or uncovering, stumbling on something, someone who is already going before us and was here ready and waiting. We are gathered because Jesus has a plan and a purpose for us. He has something he wants to teach us\u2014to become like he is, to learn how to live as a son or daughter of God.<\/p>\n

To be blunt, we have been found so that we might learn how to walk the way of Jesus. There are three parts to this:<\/p>\n