Called to Christ

Epiphany 2

January 14, 2024

Fr. Tim Nunez

May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The word “god” means something different to people around the world and across time. There is a formula we find in scripture for describing God, which we will pray during the Eucharistic prayer later in the service. We will pray to God as the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” That is distinguish him from all other gods and to affirm that we are talking about the same God and Father as Jesus, the same God and Father of Jesus.

And it is a focus that bears some reflection as we approach today’s Gospel. The stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are in the book of Genesis, the first book in the Pentateuch, which means the Five Scrolls, of Moses.

Abraham made some serious mistakes along the way and he had his flaws, but was a faithful man from a faithful family who believed in the One true God. You may recall that God promised him a great many descendants despite being 75 when he was called and his wife Sarah being well past her time for child bearing. But, by God’s grace she bore Isaac.

Abraham had seven other children. He fathered Ishmael by Sarah’s servant Hagar. After Sarah died, he married Keturah and they had 6 more children together. But the covenant was to flow through Isaac.

Isaac had some flaws and made some notable mistakes, too, but he was also a faithful man. Do we see a pattern emerging here? Isaac and Rebekah had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Now the pattern shifts. The boys were twins but Esau was born first, with Jacob hanging onto his heel. The name Jacob means “Heel Grabber” or “Usurper” or “Supplanter” or “Cheater.” When they were young men, Jacob coaxed Esau to foolishly sell his birthright for a bowl of stew. He also stole their father’s blessing from his brother, impersonating Esau, tricking their father who had gone blind in his old age.

For those and other incidents, Jacob was regarded as shrewd, even sneaky. Later, he would dream of angels ascending and descending between heaven and earth on what we translate as “Jacob’s Ladder.” And despite his sneaky, cheating ways, God affirmed the Covenant he made with Abraham and Isaac with Jacob. Jacob would wrestle with an angel and although he could not win, neither would he let go. For that, he was named Israel, which means “Wrestles with God.”

God chose Abraham. God Chose Isaac. God chose Jacob. Each of them was flawed. Each of them did things that would make us scratch our heads and which irritated God. Yet God called them. God revealed himself to them and through them. The faith, the Covenant, was passed down through the family which would grow over time into a people, a nation formed and defined by that relationship with God. And so began an astounding sequence of events across many centuries that all led to Jesus standing on the shore of the sea of Galilee and calling his first disciples.

Philip goes to his friend Nathanael, who is skeptical. But Jesus wins his faith with just a couple of sentences. He hails him as, “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” This is clearly a witty reference to Jacob. Nathanael is very unlike the shrewd usurper, the heel grabber, the original Israelite in whom there was much guile.

The skeptic answers, “Where did you know me?” In other words, “We are just now meeting, so how did you come up with your witty greeting?”

Jesus replies, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you,” Nathanael’s response is electric. “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Why? We are left to ponder what Nathanael was doing under a fig tree. Was he reading? Was he studying the Books of Moses, of which Genesis is the first? Was he studying and reflecting on the story of Jacob? It appears so.

When Jesus tells Nathanael he will, “…see the heavens opened and the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man,” he not only makes another reference to Jacob, he is proclaiming himself as the “ladder,” the means by which heaven and earth will be reconciled.

Please note the pattern has shifted. Jesus calls Andrew who brings Peter to Jesus, who then brings Philip to Jesus, who then brings Nathanael to Jesus. Friend brings friend who brings friend. Each of them is flawed and each of them will make mistakes that make us scratch our heads and irritate Jesus. Yet Jesus called them. Jesus revealed himself to them and through them.

Jesus knows you. He sees you, no matter where you are. He sees you as you are. Knowing everything about you even better than you know yourself, he loves you. He knows your thoughts. He knows your flaws. He knows your past and he holds your future. He also sees ahead to the ultimate you. He sees who you can be. He sees who we can be, and he sees the world as it shall be.

We talk about a sense of “call” because, loving us as he does where we are, his desire is for the very best. He is always calling us further and further into his vision for us and for the world around us. I was so touched this week as a newer member came to talk about faith and life, not yet sure what to do, but feeling called to figure that out. So we talked and prayed. I’m not sure where that will lead, but I’m happy for the question and to see how it will unfold. I expect the search will lead to a path which will bless that person and others.

And it’s more than Jesus saving us, healing us and perfecting us, although that is certainly part of it. It’s more than Jesus working through us as we bring others to encounter him. In the process, he is reconciling us to his Father, the Father, to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the one true God – and there is no other. He is the bridge reconciling heaven and earth. We are his witnesses.

AMEN