Come and See
Phillip 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." John 1:45-46
"What would Jesus do?"
I was in college when the question became a slogan. I'd walk into Christian bookstores and see entire shelves dedicated to the phrase. Teenagers came to church with the acronym emblazoned on bracelets, T-shirts, caps, and hoodies: "WWJD?" Pastors used the question to title sermons, and youth group leaders chose it as an organizing theme for summer camps and vacation Bible schools. Goldmine industry though it became, the goal of the paraphernalia was to encourage kids to orient their lives around Jesus. If he were here now, facing the situation we're facing, what would he do?
As I reflect on Jesus's first encounters with his disciples, I wonder if we might shift the WWJD question a bit, from "What would Jesus do?" to "What would Jesus see?" after all, the Jesus of the Gospels spends a lot of time looking, noticing, and discerning. Perhaps we should begin where Jesus begins. If he were here right now, looking at what we're looking at, what would he see?
In this Scripture from John's Gospel, a skeptic named Nathanael journeys from doubt to faith. He experiences an epiphany, discovering for himself that Jesus of Nazareth is in fact the Son of God, the light that has come into the world.
But the story at its core is not about what Nathanael sees; it's about what Jesus sees. It's a story about Jesus' way of looking and seeing, and about what becomes possible when we dare to experience his gaze. In this story, what makes salvation possible is not what Nathanael sees in Jesus, but what Jesus sees in Nathanael...
Seeing is alway selective. We have choices when it comes to what we see, what we prioritize, what we name, and what we call out in each other. The selves we present to the world are layered and messy, and it takes both love and patience to sift through those layers and find out what lies at the center of who we are. But there is great power in that sifting too. Something happens to us when we are deeply seen, known, named and accepted.
Jesus has a choice when it comes to seeing Nathanael. I wonder what would have happened if instead of calling out Nathanael's purity of heart, Jesus said, "Here is a cynic who is stunted by doubt," or, "Here is a man who is governed by prejudice," or, "Here is a man who is careless in his speech," or "Here is a man who sits around, passive and noncommittal, waiting for life to happen to him."
Any one of those things might be true of Nathanael. But Jesus looks past them all to see an honesty, a guilelessness, a purity of thought and intention that makes up the true core of Nathanael's character. Maybe the other qualities are there as well, but would Nathanael's heart melt in wonder and joy if Jesus names the quality he wants to bless and cultivate in his would-be follower, the quality that makes Nathanael an image-bearer of God.
What would happen if we routinely saw as Jesus sees?...
The invitation to "come and see" is an invitation to leave our comfortable vantage points and dare to believe that, maybe, we have erred in our original certainties about each other, God and the world. To come and see is to approach all of life with a grace-filled curiosity, to believe that we are holy mysteries to each other, worthy of further exploration. To come and see is to enter into the joy of being deeply seen and deeply known, and to have the very best that lies hidden within us called out and called forth...
What would Jesus see? Come and see likewise.
excerpt from Debie Thomas
"Come and See"
Into the Mess and Other Jesus Stories
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation