011162021 – John 1. 43-51 Epiphany II
On the church calendar the season AFTER Christmas is called Epiphany.
“Epiphany” is not a word – used frequently.
The word has two meanings. First, epiphany can mean “an appearance or manifestation of God.”
This kind of epiphany is sometimes called a theophany, which literally means God-appearance.
So, when we observe the Epiphany season, we celebrate God appearing to us in the person of Jesus
The Hebrew Bible records a number of epiphanies, or theophanies, from YHWH to the people of Israel.
So, for example, we read from 1 Samuel of the young Samuel receiving an epiphany from YHWH. God calls to Samuel in the middle of the night, but Samuel thinks it is his mentor, the prophet Eli.
This happens three times until Eli finally realizes it is YHWH and instructs Samuel to reply, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
So, when YHWH calls Samuel a fourth time, Samuel replies as he had been instructed: “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Second, an epiphany can mean “a moment of sudden INSIGHT or UNDERSTANDING.”
This kind of epiphany might also be called “eureka moment”…or an “AHA MOMENT” or “a moment of clarification”…you know when the light bulb turns on—above your head!
Legend has it that one day the ancient Greek – Math-guy-Archimedes stepped into a bath and noticed that the water around him rose. Whoa!!!! Would you look at that!!!!
He suddenly realized that “the volume of water” displaced in the tub was “equal to the volume of the part of his body” submerged in the water. Wowza!
This realization IMMEDIATELY solved a math problem that had NEVER BEFORE been solved—namely, “how to measure the volume of an irregular shaped object,” like that of a human body.
Apparently, he was SO EXCITED that he shouted “Eureka! Eureka!” And then he jumped out of the tub and ran NAKED through the streets of Syracuse pruney body and all, telling EVERYONE of his BIG MATH DISCOVERY.
Fortunately, MOST OF US wait until we’re fully clothed to share our special insights with others.
“Eureka!” A mountain top moment.
“It just hit me!” I GET IT!
“Aha!” NOW, I UNDERSTAND!
“I’ve got it!” WOW!!!! Way COOL!
All of these exclamations are ways of exclaiming, “I’ve just had an epiphany!”
There’s EXCITEMENT when you have an epiphany. There’s JOY when you’re suddenly struck by a PROFOUND INSIGHT or revelation.
John’s Gospel suggests that the two meanings of the word “epiphany” are inter-related.
The big idea from the Gospel is this: When we encounter God in Jesus, we see reality differently. A Light bulb goes on! Ta Dah!!!!
A wow-za kind-of-moment….
Jesus finds Philip—who is from the same town as Andrew and Peter—and calls him to be a disciple. Ok, cool…
But then, Philip then runs off and finds his buddy Nathanael….and says…
“We have found the guy Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Dude, quick come…
Nathaniel is from the town of Cana, which is just a COUPLE OF MILES from the small town of Nazareth.
SO, when he hears his buddy Philip breathlessly declaring that he has found the long-awaited Messiah in the little, stinkin’ backyard town of Nazareth, he is in shock! Dude, you’ve got to be kidding me. No way!
“Nazareth!” he responds. Why that place is the armpit of the nation! Worse than Racine!
It’s such an insignificant town that there’s no known record of it anywhere outside the Gospels and the book of Acts until around 150 years later.
So, Philip doesn’t try to argue with Nathanael. He simply invites Nathanael, “to Come and see for himself”
Then, there’s another twist… before Nathanael sees Jesus, Jesus sees him!
Jesus calls out, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete and utter integrity.” A real mensch!
Nathanael is taken aback. “How do you know ABOUT ME?” he asks.
“I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do…Stalker!
Nathaniel goes from DOUBTING that anything good, much less the Messiah himself, could come from Nazareth to immediately BELIEVING: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” WOW! Dude, you got it going on. It was an amazing reversal…kinda like that of Doubting Thomas!!!!!
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Jesus seems almost a little amused by Nathanael’s “stunning reversal.” I picture, a sly kind of smirk on Jesus’ face!
“Wait,” he says, “just wait…there will be a lot more coming!”
Amen.