A Simple Invitation

I was never much of a Lord of the Rings fan. I was more of a Star Wars guy. When Peter Jackson’s “Fellowship of the Ring” came out in 2001, it made a pop culture splash, but I didn’t go see the film, and didn’t feel as if I was missing anything.
In 2002, the next installment, called “The Two Towers” was released to theaters. Again, I didn’t really care much one way or the other. But some friends of mine who were really into the Ring stories invited me to a midnight showing, and I agreed to go. Keep in mind I had a pretty sketchy idea of the plot, and I was walking into part two without any real idea of what part one was about. It didn’t matter. All it took was the spectacular opening scene and I was hooked. I’m glad I went, because it introduced me to an imaginative world that I had never explored before, and I was pleased to learn that the story dealt with some worthwhile themes. Point is, I had to come and see for myself what all the fuss was about. Once I did, I got it, and I’m thankful for the enjoyment it’s given me.
I’m pretty certain that we share that characteristic. As human beings, we like to see for ourselves. Sometimes we’ll take the word of others at face value, but most of the time, we like to check things out for ourselves. We want to test things by our own criteria. We want to gauge our reaction to something, whether it’s a movie or a book or a sport or a game or even a church. We want to see for ourselves. It’s just the way we’re built.
A man named Philip understood this very well. Philip had come face to face with Jesus of Nazareth. This Jesus had approached Philip with a life-changing invitation. “Follow me.” Something about this experience led Philip to the conclusion that Jesus was the one about whom Moses and the Law and the prophets had written. Jesus was the Prophet with a capital P. Jesus was the one who would take the throne of his ancestor David. Jesus was the Messiah. The time of God’s deliverance had come.
What do you do with that kind of news? You’ve got to share it with someone. You feel like you’ll burst if you don’t. So Philip thought of Nathanael and goes to find him. Did you notice all the finding going on in this passage? Jesus found Philip. Then Philip finds Nathanael in order to say, “We found the person the Scripture points to: it’s Jesus of Nazareth!”
Have you ever had someone just totally take the wind out of your sails with their less-than-enthused reaction? You’re dying to share some good news with someone, and they just shut you down with a sarcastic, negative comment? I wonder if that’s how Philip felt. We’ve located the Messiah…we know who he is...and Nathanael’s response is a classic bubble-burster: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Come on Philip, you’ve got to be kidding.
And here is where Philip teaches us an incredible lesson. There were a number of different ways he could’ve reacted to Nathanael’s dissing of his discovery. He could’ve gotten angry and walked away. He could’ve said, “Forget it.” He could’ve engaged Nathanel in a theological debate, going point by point through the Scriptures, giving a clinching argument for Jesus’ identity. He could’ve done any of those things and more. But he didn’t. Instead, he just drops this on Nathanael: “Come and see.” Just a simple invitation: ‘Come and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.’
There is a lesson here about witnessing that I don’t want you to miss. So often I think we have the impression that witnessing only means “talking someone into believing.” That makes us stop before we start. We don’t know what to say or how to say it. We don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. Or it might just be the opposite—you love the truth so much that you’re willing to just drop the hammer on anyone who disagrees with you. You’ve got answers and you know how to use them. Both extremes can learn a better way from Philip and his simple invitation: “Come and see.”
Now it must be said that this invitation was a bit more concrete on Philip’s part. He could invite Nathanael to come see a flesh and blood person and listen to what that person had to say. But our invitation to come and see is really not that much different. Our invitation is this: Come and see Jesus in the place he has promised to be: in His Church.
We can expect the Nathanael question to that too. Lots of folks including some of our own family members, friends, and neighbors might say, “The Christian Church? Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church? Can any good come out of there? I’m not into organized religion. The church is full of hypocrites. They’re always asking for your money. I don’t have to go to church to be a good person. All the Christians I know are more judgmental and less forgiving than the non-Christians. Can any good come from the Church?’ How do you handle this Nathanael question?
Again, we could be offended, especially if there is some painful truth to what is being said. We could debate and try to win the argument and prove ourselves right—which might make us feel good, but also might hurt more than help. We can give up and withdraw and not say anything to the unbeliever and take the stance that they know where we are if they need us. Or we can hold out our hands in hospitality with the invitation: “Come and see.” Come and see for yourself. Come and see if the stereotypes you have hold true. Come and see if the Christian message is what you think it is. Just come and see.
Making this invitation requires confidence. Philip had it in Jesus. He reasoned that if he could just get Nathanael and Jesus together, then the right things would happen. In this case, they did, and then some. Jesus exceeded Nathanael’s expectations—so much so that the man who accepted the invitation to come and see ends up confessing Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel!
If we believe that Jesus is really with us in His Word; If we believe that Jesus is really with us in baptism and in the Lord’s Supper; if we believe that Jesus has made a home in us, then we can make the same invitation with confidence, too. But it’s that last possibility that trips us up. We can get in the way of Jesus. We can, unfortunately, present a negative image to people of what Christianity is all about. I saw a book or an article title once that said: “I Don’t Have a Problem with Jesus; It’s His Followers I Can’t Stand.” Ouch! That hurts! But, could the person who wrote those words have a point?
If so, then we need to know that the invitation applies to us too. Come and see our sins in light of God’s Law. Come and see the punishment they deserve. Come and see the Son of God stoop down to pick up the heavy load of our sins—our sins, not his—and stagger under their weight up to the cross. Come and see Him die your death and take your shame and guilt and see Him bury them all in his grave. Come and see Him break out of His tomb, fully alive, to make you fully alive. Come and see Jesus. And once you’ve seen, bring others to see. Invite them to the places where Jesus awaits. Invite them to the places where the Holy Spirit is active and probing and working to create faith. Invite them and help them to meet a God who knows what we need, and gives us so much more. Let’s become imitators of Philip, making this simple invitation to all who will listen: “Come and see.”