Unseen Realities, Part 2: A New Way of Seeing

As we discussed in Part I, we live in a world packed with the supernatural. We see this going on in the story of the interaction between Jesus and Nathanael in the Gospel of John (John 1:43-51). Here, Philip, Nathanael’s friend, is overcome with joy. Why? Because he knows, as another disciple, Andrew, says to his brother Simon, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41b).

We Have Found the Messiah

Now, you need to know when Andrew said, “We have found the Messiah,” he said it with awe. Trembling. A profound longing and hope. Israel believed deeply that God would come and send a deliverer who would set them free from the hands of Roman oppressors, overflow injustice and establish a kind of heaven on earth. For the Jews, the whole idea of being set free was beyond apprehension.

And so when Philip comes to Nathaniel and echoes Peter’s words, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth” (John 1:45b), he’s not just saying, “I had a great breakfast this morning. Let me tell you where I ate.” He’s talking about the longing of an entire people.

And Nathanael’s response to this astounding declaration? “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46b). It’s as if he’s saying, “You’ve gotta be kidding. Nazareth?” 

‘What You Believe Is So Small’

But Nathanael’s curious; he wants to see whom this imposter might be. The two of them show up, and Jesus looks directly at Nathanael. He doesn’t reprimand him and say, “You know, you really showed your ignorance back there.”

Instead, he says, “Ahhh. An Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” (John 1:47b). In other words, whatever is in Nathanael’s heart, it just comes right out. There is no guile, to use the more classic term. He isn’t political. He doesn’t say what people want to hear; he just speaks his mind.

And of course, Nathanael is shocked. “Where did you get to know me?” (John 1: 49). In other words, “What are you saying?”

And he’s even more shocked when Jesus says, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you” (John 1:48b).

Now, Nathanael didn’t see anybody, and as far as he knew, Jesus wasn’t hiding in the bushes somewhere. God has given Jesus a piece of supernatural knowledge that he would not otherwise have. Nathanael is floored.

And just like the “Nazareth” comment, again, right out of his heart with no filters, he says, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49).

He’s astonished. And he responds in a way that his schooling, in Shiva school, would have taught him—that if there are miracles happening, then it is probably a sign of Messiahship.

But wait, there’s more.

Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.”  And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” (John 1:50-51).

Jesus is telling Nathanael, “What you said wasn’t wrong, but what you believe about it is so small, And do you know what’s in front of you? Something so huge.” He adds, “Fasten your seatbelt, Nathanael. I’m inviting you into a world for which you are ill-prepared. A world filled with angels ascending and descending, and where Jesus is Lord over all. Are you ready for that?”

A New Way of Seeing

That’s the same invitation God extends to us. When we stand up and we say the creed (“We believe in one God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth”), our level of belief in these words and their import, their impact, and their depth is so small, and yet those words speak of realities that are so great.

You see, the more I know, the more I realize I don’t know. God invites us into a new reality, into a new way of seeing the world. Not just “I’m asking Jesus into my heart, and I live in the world of reality. And Jesus might be up there somewhere, sitting on a throne or in heaven, wherever that is. And my job is to sort of live it out and do the best I can with whatever I have.”

What an incredibly truncated view of salvation! Just the opposite is true. When Christ breaks into my life, I’m invited into a world packed with the presence of God. That has always been true, but I’m one of the slow ones. Somehow, as we talked about last week, we want to believe in and think about and react to the things we can empirically see. And that knowledge is tiny in comparison to this extraordinarily huge, varied, multilevel supernatural world, which is, in fact, the accurate way of seeing reality.

What would it begin for you to begin your day and say, “O God, amidst a world for which I only see this much, guide me into larger realities.” It’s an admission that I am so blind, in fact, to the things that matter most.

Who knows but the person who came to your aid in that moment when you needed somebody to show up might have been an angel of God? That the person you so easily dismissed, in fact, might have a destiny that could change things in a radical way? God has the most incredible ability to take the least likely people and use them in the most extraordinary ways.

We have a pecking order that’s very clear and well-defined, and it has everything to do with what we can see, who their family is, where they went to school, what their neighborhood is, who their friends are, and where they belong. And this is, in fact, a box of childish toys that ill-equips us to deal with people effectively because they are so much more than that.

So much more.

God, help me to see people as you see them, as children of God, destined for eternity. Help me to see the world as you see it, that I might serve you effectively and live in a way that really does reflect your life, and the great kingdom you are breaking into this world to give us. Amen.

Will you join me in my prayer for a new way of seeing? Let’s talk. Share this blog and your response on Twitter and include my username, @revgregbrewer.

(This post is an adaption of Bishop Brewer’s sermon on September 25, 2016, at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Orlando, Fla.)

Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.