Truth or Consequences

John 1:43-51 
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip 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.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 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.”

So imagine this scenario…you are sitting in a meeting with other folks from work, or at a monthly organizational gathering of a fraternal or social club of which you are a member, or perhaps its sitting on a church committee or sub-committee…when that certain someone, that person who is always pointing out the negative in every situation blurts out, “NO…there is no way that that idea could work because we tried it before, and it didn’t work then and it won’t work now…so we might as well not even bother!” If you had a nickel for every time, right? 

 
Now I love to get a good laugh out of people like that…especially when it’s on television and not real life…but it does beg the question…how do we deal with the naysayers in our midst? How to we establish mutually respectful relationships with those that always put the brakes on when it comes to change, or progress or even critical evaluation?

 
Now, you wouldn’t normally think of the Jesus narratives in the gospels dealing with the issue of critical people…but our text today gives us much insight into the way Jesus dealt with the ego in himself and others. Our story could be a script for the television show “The Office.” Jesus leaves one incredible impression on Philip after being introduced to him by his friends Andrew and Peter from Bethsaida. And as Philip runs home to tell his friends about this experience he encounters Nathanael. Excitedly, Philip tells him about this Jesus he met earlier in the day. “We found him! The one Moses wrote about in our sacred scriptures. He’s the Messiah! And it’s Jesus, you know, Joseph’s son…the guy from Nazareth.”

Now we really don’t know much about Nathanael, but it appears from his response that he’s one of those “kind” of people. “What? Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding…what good could come out of Nazareth?” It seems from this interaction that Nathanael is one of those critical curmudgeons…”crackpots” as my Mom used to call them. He’s the guy or girl that always finds the negative in every situation. He’s the “Dwight Schrute” of the office. And he is somebody so different than anybody else Jesus has called before that he seems to stick out like a sore thumb.

 

Think about it…he’s not like one of those naive kids, Jimmy and Johnny, who had their "momma" ask Jesus for special treatment for themselves. He’s definitely not like Thomas who was wishy washy about what he did or didn’t believe. Wasn’t like Peter either, who regularly opened his mouth in order to insert his own foot into it. Nathanael knew exactly what he thought about everything and wasn’t afraid to tell you so. And when Philip suggested that this new prophet was God's gift to Israel, Nathanael just rolled his eyes. “Nazareth? You’re kidding, right? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

 And here’s where the story really gets interesting. Nathanael wasn't saying anything that any good Jew wasn’t already thinking. The fact is; Nazareth was no place any decent Jew would ever want to go, or claim to be from. It’s not that Nazareth was some dump or a hole in the middle of nowhere. It was in fact a suburb of the largest city in Galilee, Sepphoris…one of the capitals of Herod’s government. In fact, some scholars believe that Jesus and his father Joseph probably worked on its re-construction as skilled tradesmen. It’s not that Jesus was some country bumpkin, but according to Nathanael, Jesus was too close to what proud Israelites considered traitor-country. He and his friends wouldn't be caught dead there. All Nazarenes consorted with the enemy.

 It would be like someone from Michigan trying out for OSU’s football team. You’d always suspect that a football player from Michigan might have some ulterior motive, some potential for sabotage. Can anything good come out of Ann Arbor?


 You see, Nathanael was a cynic. A cynic with a sharp tongue, to boot, probably with his eyeglasses sitting on the end of his nose with a proverbial look of disgust. And once Jesus lays eyes on him, once he gets a really good look at this old coot, he responds in such a wonderful way. "Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no guile.” The Message translation says, “Now there’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.” It reminds me of Mike Myer’s character on SNL…Linda Richman…who could not sugar coat the truth even if you paid her. And this quip…this quirky elbow jab stops old Nathanael in his tracks. With his jaw hanging open, he looks this young whipper-snapper up and down and fires back, "And just how do you know me?"


 “Why, I had you spotted coming a mile away, long before Philip dragged you here," Jesus says to him, winking at him with one eye. And whatever it was that Nathanael took from that exchange, he became a convert right there on the spot. Jesus had this wonderful way of speaking truth in a loving way that cut through all of the illusions and drama that existed in his relationships and got right to the point. He could separate the roles and personas from who that person really was…and connect directly to the essence of their being.

 One of my favorite authors, Eckert Tolle, says that there is no real conceptual answer for the question, “Who am I?” But the moment that we stop having to answer that question for ourselves, we become open to the oneness of all of life…the essence of our being. For the need to define or label who we are, to have a clear understanding of our sense of self, is the work of our ego. And when the ego encounters other egos it doesn’t like…it comes into conflict. And that’s when drama happens. He says, “Whatever you react to in another, you strengthen in yourself.” That’s why when you observe someone complaining about someone or some situation, it is a clear sign that they are trying to validate…and strengthen that tendency within themselves. I always try to keep an inner ear open to my own complaints. It helps me identify the things within myself that need healing or understanding. While complaining might be the process of strengthening the ego, resentment is the real emotional response.

Nathanael couldn’t believe anything good could come out of Nazareth. Perhaps someone had said the same about him? Maybe his distain of the Roman occupation had hardened his heart to any shred of hope that things could be any different. And what did Jesus do, he spoke truth to Nathanael in a loving way that melted the icy walls of resentment. “Now here comes someone who will tell the truth about anything!” Jesus says. His response teaches us that the best way to break free from these egoist structures is by not-reacting. And non-reaction produces forgiveness. Now I’m not talking about indifference, but about the process of seeing others for who they are on the inside…not who they project themselves to be on the outside. And every person deep inside is a child of God, asking for healing, love and transformation whether they can vocalize it or not.

Sometimes we get so accustomed to defending our right to be right, that we begin to believe we’re never supposed to be wrong. And being wrong reminds us that we are human. And being human is just where the ego wants us to stay. Awareness of our collective humanity is the beginning of our transformation, the raising of our own consciousness, and the evolution of our entire species.

There is one absolute truth. That truth emanates from the source of our very being…it is the Christ within us. Jesus spoke of it as the “I AM,” the way, the truth and the life – that which was, is now and always will be; that which is timeless. Eastern religions acknowledge it within each of us with the greeting “Namaste.” We do it in Protestantism by passing the peace of Christ to each other.


Barry Robinson suggests that "in the church we need folks who are not afraid to speak the truth to each other…even if they're wrong. It just doesn’t seem to be appropriate any more. It doesn’t make for a smooth facilitation. It makes the meeting run longer than we want it to. We aren’t comfortable with the power-struggle between competing players. It’s something to mediate, not learn from; to handle, not be transformed by. So concerned have we become about being fair to everyone that we are no longer concerned about the content of what is being said. We get caught up in interpersonal politics; not critical debate. It is why curmudgeons and cynics are no longer welcome in religious communities. They tend to disrupt the conspiracy of cordiality. They make us uncomfortable with what we are prepared to condone. It is why we tend to leave them outside. There was a time in Israel when they were invited in, when scolding was an instrument of tradition, not a threat to it; when the absence of guile was valued over the easy deceits we tend to rationalize. Perhaps it was why Jesus himself couldn't wait to have someone like Nathanael on his team; somebody who wasn't afraid of heartfelt emotions. For there are values that are worth defending, truths that must be acknowledged and drama that needs to be exposed."

 So many people leave the church because they “don’t like the politics.” But politics is people. People cause conflict. And conflict is the course for change. For churches that are in transition, naysayers keep us honest. Their opinions often hold some kernels of truth in them; truth that is seldom ever spoken out loud. If we are not willing to hear the truth now, then we will most likely suffer the consequences later!

What good can come from Nazareth? We all come from Nazareth, when we endeavor to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. And that is a truth worth telling. Amen.

(Excerpts from Ian Lawton’s presentation, “Lesson Three: Sin & Evil” - www.christ-community.net  and Barry J. Robinson’s sermon, “Give Me an Old Scold Any Day” from January 19, 2003 – www.fernstone.org).