Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

Reading on the lines, between the lines and behind the lines

 But they learnt their lesson and that review went with them everywhere from then on, reminding them of the need to be properly prepared and to work extremely hard at getting and delivering the right material. They researched their audiences and their material thoroughly leaving nothing to chance - reading not only what was on every line of each script, but also what was between and behind each line!

 Not only did they have their own regular British television shows throughout the 1960s and 1970s [their last show together was in 1983] but in the mid-1960s Ed Sullivan invited them to appear on 3 of his shows in New York. Fifty three million Americans saw Morecambe and Wise on each Ed Sullivan show.

 But what has this to do with today's lectionary reading from John's Gospel?

 First of all, those who are poor in the eyes of the world can be rich in faith. Remembering that John's Gospel is more theology of the latter end of the 1^st century CE rather than history we ought to read not only what is on the line, but also what is between and behind each line! In other words, we must not take the written script [in this case the Bible] at face value, but we need to struggle with what the authors [and in today's lectionary, the author(s) of the Gospel of John] were trying to say beyond any literal interpretation of the written narrative.

 Nathanael appears in the Gospel of John but not in Mark, Matthew or Luke. Bartholomew appears in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke but not in John.

Therefore, many scholars think that Nathanael and Bartholomew are one and the same person - one of the twelve Apostles specifically called by Jesus to follow him. But why is it necessary for us to be so 'knit picking'? Because,e if we take the reading simply at face value, we miss so much hidden truth for today.

 Nathanael was both a male first name and a family surname. In Hebrew the name means "Gift of God." Bartholomew comes from the Aramaic meaning "son of Tolmay" or "son of the furrows" indicating that he was, perhaps a working class agricultural ploughman?

 Bartholomew may not be a first name but rather a family name, so the character that 'stars' in our Gospel reading today was Nathanael Bartholomew - the 'gift of God' within an ordinary uneducated poor peasant agricultural worker. In the words of James 2:5, God has chosen "those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?"

 Secondly, God comes to us in all people so we must not discriminate or judge according to appearance. That same chapter 2 of James [vv1-4] reminds the followers of the Way of Jesus not to discriminate or to judge according to appearance:  "My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?"

 The Apostle Paul wrote in his 1^st letter to the Corinthians chapter 1:25-27: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." (NIV)

 Mark Townsend, the soulful priest and magician, writes in his 'Diary of a Hedge Priest': "Some of the letters to the local press (sparked off by my ex-vicar and pope letter) have amazed me by their own total misconception of the spiritual / human quest. One of them was talking about this 'God who cannot look upon darkness, and cannot even look upon those who sin.' What planet are these people on? Have they forgotten what the Christian faith was about at the very beginning? The whole thrust of the Christ story subverts the purity code culture and says God's in the dirt, in the mess and muddle. Christ symbolizes a god image that embraces darkness, evil, sin - real humanity as its most human. Jesus (if we see him as the human face of God) resisted and ignored the religious customs, the strict purity obsessions. He plunged right into the murky and mixed humanity, mingling with the so-called gluttons and sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes - and getting a name for it. He didn't care about what we might call 'respectability.'"

 And my third point today concerns dreaming dreams then and now. In the narrative, Nathanael Bartholomew - the 'gift of God' within an ordinary uneducated poor peasant agricultural worker - was told by Jesus that he would be a dreamer, seeing what others would not readily see, "heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

 A reminder - this is theology and not history or a future time event. To see "heaven open" speaks to me of Kingdom living in the present. Dreaming dreams is not passive - it is a call to action.

 "Kingdom living and dreaming dreams" is about challenging injustice that deprives any one of dignity and purpose in life. For example, how can we who are followers of the Jesus Way remain silent when we read the latest statistics concerning long-term unemployment and especially those young people in UK who have never had a job? The unemployment figures for 18-24 year olds in November 2011 reached 1,200,000. In other words, two-fifths of all those who are unemployed in UK are now aged under 25. This is an injustice about which we cannot be silent. We need to be asking questions about the structural deficits of our global financial systems and ceaseless political quest for the holy grail of continuous economic growth. The result of this political and economic model is full stomachs and great wealth for some and despair and the destruction of personal dignity for many others. There is something fundamentally wrong in a system where the many who are employed work so that others [the minority] can live in great affluence off the backs of their workers. 'Bankers' and 'fat cats' are words that come readily to mind. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann calls this the 'economics of Pharaoh'.

 Or another example: how can we who are followers of the Jesus Way, continue to be silent concerning the support given by the Russian Government to the Syrian Government's human rights abuses, torture and killing of innocent protestors? I urge you to join the current Avaaz community of over 10 million global citizens who are letter and email writing direct to President Dmitry Medvedev.

 We must not take the Bible at face value, but we must struggle with what the authors were trying to say beyond any literal interpretation or cherry picking of 'favourite' verses of the written narrative.

 We need to do this in our attempts to discern what the Sacred Spirit that had been in the struggle of the original authors to understand what was right in their days, has to say to us for our action in our days.

 In conclusion I quote John Dominic Crossan, Biblical scholar and an authority on the historical Jesus and First Century Christianity: "The traditional benediction is 'Go in Peace.' Gently and delicately I would suggest this alternative: 'Go in justice, and peace will take care of itself.'"

 Copyright ©: 2012, Rev John Churcher. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.