To Know or be Known
Readings : Psalm 139:1- 5,12-17 John 1:43 – 51
Prayer : St John said -”This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent”. Lord we pray show us Him who is the Way, the Truth & the Life & help us to know Him, just as we are fully known. Amen.
How can we know someone – to truly know them – to have such an understanding of them that we know how they tick – what their character is – what they’re thinking – their likes & dislikes – their background & their future…how can we so get to know them that we’re not taken by surprise or say ‘that person was acting out of character’ ? How many of you really know your partner or your child ? To truly know them in their entirety ?
I don’t know if you remember the popular game show on TV in the 1970s with Derek Batey, called ‘Mr & Mrs’ ? Here couples were asked 6 questions independent of each other to see how well they knew each other – – Where was your partner born? What colour are his/her eyes? – What was your partner’s first job?- What is your partner’s greatest fear? They competed with other contestants to win the coveted carriage clock. // Carrying on with the TV theme –how many of you remember Eamonn Andrews & his red book on ‘This is your Life’ – celebrities taken by surprise as people popped up from their past & told the viewing public, aspects from the celebrity’s life that we didn’t know. Even people in the public eye had secrets or hidden parts to their lives. Finally there is the TV series on Sherlock Holmes – the 3 part series finishes tonight. Sherlock Holmes -master detective, who only needed to look at a person to see the subtle clues as to what they had for breakfast, whether they were right or left handed, where they were born & by what means they had travelled to meet him. It was all “very elementary my dear Watson..”
Here in John Chapter 1 – we have Jesus’ encounter with Nathanael – or is it Nathanael’s encounter with Jesus or is it both ? Tom Wright former bishop of Durham said, “Jesus’ banter with Nathanael – each seeming to test the other out, but with Jesus retaining the initiative”. Nathanael taken by surprise that this itinerant preacher who everyone was talking about, knew so much about him – How come ? He said, “Whence knowest thou me ?” or maybe in modern parlance – “Have we met before somewhere?” Jesus knew all about him, even before Philip made the formal introductions. He said he saw him under the fig tree even before Philip went looking for him. This wasn’t a case of Jesus doing a Sherlock Holmes – of looking at Nathanael & picking up the subtle clues – of carrying out the art of forensic analysis to discern this man’s character & demeanour. This was a case of Jesus knowing him – truly knowing him – knowing him in a way not known to human science or to human knowledge – as if he had X ray vision – to look straight into Nathanael’s heart & mind, to his hopes & dreams, to the very core of his being. On the surface, Jesus just lets slip one small fact about him, “I saw you under the fig tree” but to Nathanael that was all he needed – he was convinced, “ Rabbi – you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel”.
What had taken this man, a devout Jew, known to Philip as one who diligently searched the scriptures, to make such a bold & some would say blasphemous confession. Minutes before he was all scepticism & scorn – “Can anything good come out of Nazareth”. He knew the scriptures & they didn’t say anything about the Messiah coming from back waters town of Nazareth – who was this Jesus who Philip called the “son of Joseph” ? Yet he went to explore – Philip didn’t try to argue with him to persuade him, he just said “Come & see”. Like the Samaritan woman later on in St John’s Gospel, he felt that Jesus had foreknowledge – “He told me everything I ever did”…How could this Jesus know such things unless he really was from God – someone who was so in touch with God that he displayed divine qualities – the ability of knowing all things & being present in all places – the eternal omniscient, omnipresent God – as the Psalmist said, “Who knit me together in my mother’s womb & knew all my days before any of them had taken place”. Jesus was not just an Eamonn Andrews, recounting the past deeds of the person before him – he was able to analyse Nathanael completely & knew him intimately. Maybe the Psalmist’s prayer, ‘Search me & know my heart, test me & know my anxious thoughts’ were the thoughts & prayers of Nathanael as he meditated under the fig tree before meeting Jesus. Maybe God had pre-prepared him for the divine encounter, even before he knew it was about to happen…before Philip took what he thought was his initiative, in introducing him to Jesus…the foreordaining of God working alongside human free will in paradoxical complexity.
So – how well do you know your partner, your wife, your husband, your child ? Are you so intimately connected that you know their thoughts from afar or can feel what they are feeling ? How much insight & knowledge do you really have of them ? It has been documented that twins can carry a psychic bond, an ability to remain connected beyond the womb – maybe you have experienced moments of connection with a loved one ? I remember on several occasions I was able to discern what Tony, one of my hostel clients, a man with schizophrenia was feeling; this was 20 minutes before I walked into the hostel & met him. How do you explain that ? I don’t have all the answers. But these are just glimmers of what 1 Cor. 13 refers to as seeing in a mirror darkly. In meeting Christ we see our past, our present & our future, in God who encircles & protects us – we meet ourselves + we get to know ourselves & get to know others as we get to know & love Jesus – the One who is all seeing + all knowing – The One who is before all things & in him all things hold together. Like Nathanael we are invited to “Come & see” – to know just as we are fully known.
Prayer : Jesus – in you we live & move & have our being. Help us to discover you – to REALLY know you – to discover you in our midst & so give our lives to you – the lives you have given us. Help us to seek & to search, to discover & to dedicate our lives to you as the One who has freely given up all things for us. Help us to find ourselves as we find you. Amen.
David Austin – Sunday 15th January 2012
