Epiphany 2nd week
COME AND SEE
JOHN 1:45-51
If we don’t have ears we might be isolated from others. In fact, don’t we deaf to all of what is practically happening in this world despite a certain new incident is happening? It said there was something newly happening in Galilee. Especially the news of Messiah’s advent widely spread. Philip and Nathanael not mere people mentioned about that. The fact we know by hearsay is not a real with having a complete meaning. It is an opposite case of Nathanael in today’s content. We often fall into an incredulous status about what we have heard. The thing we see directly is the real that cannot be confuted. Philip said to Nathanael, “Come and see!” It sounds almost unfaithful to the ears of our Protestants. We have lived by thinking that hearing, that is, to hear the Word is important. Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Rome 10:17) We have learnt in that way. However, now all of sudden other message burst on the scene. “Come and See!” If this message is not written in the Bible we might think it as an unfaithful crying. Do we really insufficient to hearing by hearsay like Nathanael? Can we confirm the reality of hearing with our own eyes only and should we surely do that?
For this we need a specula thing in our sight. We clearly realize the reality with all our senses. As we experience this world with tasty and smell we experiences a sensuous reality so peculiarly and directly through touching. However, eyes recognize the character of object in a peculiar way. It recognizes different point between the original and what we see and its relationship with us. Eyes reduce other sensing organizations’ trouble. We first see the object and then we are able to catch it’s sense of touch, smell and tasty. So often seeing itself solve the matters of understanding an object. Surly not Nathanael came to Jesus to touch Jesus or smell him. Seeing itself is enough in order to judge who Jesus is.
At this meaning, seeing takes a great role in John’s gospel. Those who come to Jesus ‘see’ him. Here seeing outer shape only is not important. Seeing means just ‘to understand’. Those who can see rightly are able to see something beyond the object lying before his sight. Otherwise there was no reason for Philip to say to Nathanael, “Come and see.” The center of his invitation was that Jesus was just Messiah. In other part in John’s writing, Jesus is saying about himself like this, “When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.” (John 12:45) If we can see Jesus at the features of his obedience to God, that is, the image of obedience as a son, then we see the Father rightly.
Of course seeing to reach to the depth is neither granted nor simple matter. We human often think that a superficial seeing is enough. We only recognize the things before our sight in general. It was already warned by the prophets, “Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.” (Isa. 43:6) For us also the essential things often skip away. It is because we don’t look into it in detail and nor to listen to it. So God says to our human through a prophet Ezekiel, "Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people. (Eze. 12:2) We often recognize what we see and hear differently for the real thing. The more serious thing for us is to regard the hand of God lightly in the happenings and things of the world.
Jesus’ disciples also were in trouble in seeing. Later coincidently John’s gospel describes about Philip who had once invited Nathanael saying “Come and see.” Pointing that Philip didn’t see Jesus correctly. Philip asked Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Then Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?” (John 14:8, 9)
Of course it is not a simple matter to see something correctly. We should learn the ability to see the essential of outer feature through the things lying before us. Formative arts can lead us to see the essential of outer features. Especially fine arts can do that. When an artist sees landscape, flower and a feature of human, he enables to formative it by painting that we cannot recognize for it hasn’t formed yet. Christianity arts expressed the story of Jesus in this way. That is, we no more can see Jesus like Nathanael and Philip. However, we still can see the essential things that are enabled to understand generally by features, through our internal sight. So a representative paintings and icons help to have such internal sight.
An unexpected thing happened to Nathanael. He saw from Jesus something beyond the phenomena happening before his eyes. As coming to Jesus Nathanael came to understand whom he had met. What had happened? Jesus already saw Nathanael who was under a fig tree even before his coming. Jesus already saw him before he came to Jesus by himself. Likewise God only knows us. He sees the life in it we are living. Nothing can be hidden from him. We have nothing to hide from Jesus. As we know us, and more than what we know about ourselves Jesus knows our life. That means Jesus knows us very well. Those who accept Jesus, shares fellowship with him see Jesus as the Son of God like Nathanael. Such seeing is already faith. At this meaning, the prologue of John’s gospel sounds like this, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
However, may this message not contradict to Paul’s assert? “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7) “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Heb. 11:1) We can find out such word in John’s gospel too. Jesus told to Thomas who believed Jesus’ resurrection after seeing the risen Jesus with his own eyes, putting his hand in Jesus’ side, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). Such series of word are the proof of the fact that believing is more important than seeing.
However, today’s content is the proof for seeing the fulfillment of salvation that already had been commencing through Jesus’ resurrection. Such seeing is a promise for us as a future event. So Jesus said to Nathanael, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:50, 51).
Faith is a previous seeing. Faith is the seeing to recognize something beyond the fact lying before us from Jesus. And the eyes of faith already have seen the Son of father from Jesus and seen the father from the son. How can we see the greater things as Jesus had told to Nathanael?
We Christian can see the glory of God in the Son to whom the glory reflected. We only are able to see the reflection of the glory. We can recognize God through the Son only. The Old Testament knew the fact that the people who saw God should die. Moses learnt of God in this way. (Exo. 33:20) Our dying eyes cannot bear direct light that is radiated from the glory of God. When Isaiah was called as a priest he saw God’s glory in a temple. He immediately cried out, "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (Isa. 6:5) I hope we may feel the same shock of Isaiah. We are sinner and we cannot but be destroyed by his holiness when we directly see God. We only can endure the light when Jesus the son of God inflects the light. We can see God through imitation of the son.
So Paul said, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18) Here we have to think the ancient bronze mirror that dimly reflects the object. So Paul said the other place, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Cor. 13:12) We can see it in a crystal clear.
As Jesus knew Nathanael was sitting under a fig tree we also look up Jesus as the son of God. We also look up the Father in the Son. For this like Nathanael we have to come to Jesus first and find out the Farther in him. For this, as we can see in the case of Philip, we have to go together with the way of Jesus. In this case little by little we can learn much better from Jesus how to see the Father.
We are having the second week of Epiphany from today. Philip was with Jesus and saw the glory of God and Nathanael also saw the glory of God from Jesus when he met him. I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ may be with us till we are able to see the glory of God in this Epiphany.
COME AND SEE
JOHN 1:45-51
If we don’t have ears we might be isolated from others. In fact, don’t we deaf to all of what is practically happening in this world despite a certain new incident is happening? It said there was something newly happening in Galilee. Especially the news of Messiah’s advent widely spread. Philip and Nathanael not mere people mentioned about that. The fact we know by hearsay is not a real with having a complete meaning. It is an opposite case of Nathanael in today’s content. We often fall into an incredulous status about what we have heard. The thing we see directly is the real that cannot be confuted. Philip said to Nathanael, “Come and see!” It sounds almost unfaithful to the ears of our Protestants. We have lived by thinking that hearing, that is, to hear the Word is important. Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Rome 10:17) We have learnt in that way. However, now all of sudden other message burst on the scene. “Come and See!” If this message is not written in the Bible we might think it as an unfaithful crying. Do we really insufficient to hearing by hearsay like Nathanael? Can we confirm the reality of hearing with our own eyes only and should we surely do that?
For this we need a specula thing in our sight. We clearly realize the reality with all our senses. As we experience this world with tasty and smell we experiences a sensuous reality so peculiarly and directly through touching. However, eyes recognize the character of object in a peculiar way. It recognizes different point between the original and what we see and its relationship with us. Eyes reduce other sensing organizations’ trouble. We first see the object and then we are able to catch it’s sense of touch, smell and tasty. So often seeing itself solve the matters of understanding an object. Surly not Nathanael came to Jesus to touch Jesus or smell him. Seeing itself is enough in order to judge who Jesus is.
At this meaning, seeing takes a great role in John’s gospel. Those who come to Jesus ‘see’ him. Here seeing outer shape only is not important. Seeing means just ‘to understand’. Those who can see rightly are able to see something beyond the object lying before his sight. Otherwise there was no reason for Philip to say to Nathanael, “Come and see.” The center of his invitation was that Jesus was just Messiah. In other part in John’s writing, Jesus is saying about himself like this, “When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.” (John 12:45) If we can see Jesus at the features of his obedience to God, that is, the image of obedience as a son, then we see the Father rightly.
Of course seeing to reach to the depth is neither granted nor simple matter. We human often think that a superficial seeing is enough. We only recognize the things before our sight in general. It was already warned by the prophets, “Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.” (Isa. 43:6) For us also the essential things often skip away. It is because we don’t look into it in detail and nor to listen to it. So God says to our human through a prophet Ezekiel, "Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people. (Eze. 12:2) We often recognize what we see and hear differently for the real thing. The more serious thing for us is to regard the hand of God lightly in the happenings and things of the world.
Jesus’ disciples also were in trouble in seeing. Later coincidently John’s gospel describes about Philip who had once invited Nathanael saying “Come and see.” Pointing that Philip didn’t see Jesus correctly. Philip asked Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Then Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?” (John 14:8, 9)
Of course it is not a simple matter to see something correctly. We should learn the ability to see the essential of outer feature through the things lying before us. Formative arts can lead us to see the essential of outer features. Especially fine arts can do that. When an artist sees landscape, flower and a feature of human, he enables to formative it by painting that we cannot recognize for it hasn’t formed yet. Christianity arts expressed the story of Jesus in this way. That is, we no more can see Jesus like Nathanael and Philip. However, we still can see the essential things that are enabled to understand generally by features, through our internal sight. So a representative paintings and icons help to have such internal sight.
An unexpected thing happened to Nathanael. He saw from Jesus something beyond the phenomena happening before his eyes. As coming to Jesus Nathanael came to understand whom he had met. What had happened? Jesus already saw Nathanael who was under a fig tree even before his coming. Jesus already saw him before he came to Jesus by himself. Likewise God only knows us. He sees the life in it we are living. Nothing can be hidden from him. We have nothing to hide from Jesus. As we know us, and more than what we know about ourselves Jesus knows our life. That means Jesus knows us very well. Those who accept Jesus, shares fellowship with him see Jesus as the Son of God like Nathanael. Such seeing is already faith. At this meaning, the prologue of John’s gospel sounds like this, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
However, may this message not contradict to Paul’s assert? “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7) “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Heb. 11:1) We can find out such word in John’s gospel too. Jesus told to Thomas who believed Jesus’ resurrection after seeing the risen Jesus with his own eyes, putting his hand in Jesus’ side, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). Such series of word are the proof of the fact that believing is more important than seeing.
However, today’s content is the proof for seeing the fulfillment of salvation that already had been commencing through Jesus’ resurrection. Such seeing is a promise for us as a future event. So Jesus said to Nathanael, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:50, 51).
Faith is a previous seeing. Faith is the seeing to recognize something beyond the fact lying before us from Jesus. And the eyes of faith already have seen the Son of father from Jesus and seen the father from the son. How can we see the greater things as Jesus had told to Nathanael?
We Christian can see the glory of God in the Son to whom the glory reflected. We only are able to see the reflection of the glory. We can recognize God through the Son only. The Old Testament knew the fact that the people who saw God should die. Moses learnt of God in this way. (Exo. 33:20) Our dying eyes cannot bear direct light that is radiated from the glory of God. When Isaiah was called as a priest he saw God’s glory in a temple. He immediately cried out, "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (Isa. 6:5) I hope we may feel the same shock of Isaiah. We are sinner and we cannot but be destroyed by his holiness when we directly see God. We only can endure the light when Jesus the son of God inflects the light. We can see God through imitation of the son.
So Paul said, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18) Here we have to think the ancient bronze mirror that dimly reflects the object. So Paul said the other place, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Cor. 13:12) We can see it in a crystal clear.
As Jesus knew Nathanael was sitting under a fig tree we also look up Jesus as the son of God. We also look up the Father in the Son. For this like Nathanael we have to come to Jesus first and find out the Farther in him. For this, as we can see in the case of Philip, we have to go together with the way of Jesus. In this case little by little we can learn much better from Jesus how to see the Father.
We are having the second week of Epiphany from today. Philip was with Jesus and saw the glory of God and Nathanael also saw the glory of God from Jesus when he met him. I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ may be with us till we are able to see the glory of God in this Epiphany.
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