Seeing is Believing: Ascending and Descending
We See by Faith
John 1:43-51
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. January 17, 2021
A few weeks ago I was trying to put a mask on and accidentally knocked my glasses off my face. Of course they snapped in two. Woe is me. Luckily I was able to find new frames. But for a time the world was a blur to me, and who knew when I might see clearly again? Through the lens of faith we may see things aright, no longer as a blur. Faith gives us vision, and when we have vision we can live aright. I, gratefully, did not need to attempt driving without my glasses. That would have been dangerous. So too to walk without faith. It can be dangerous. You can’t see where you ought to be going.
Our doctrines, the one faith once delivered, also give us vision. Bishop Will Willimon tells a story from his time as a university chaplain. A young philosophy student came up to him and told him he was questioning his faith in God. Bishop Willimon asked him what was troubling him specifically. The student said he wasn’t sure he could believe everything he had been taught. Now that he has been taking philosophy classes things like the Virgin Birth were beginning to seem indefensible. “Ah,” Willimon said, “but the Virgin Birth is easy. We start you on the Virgin Birth, and if you swallow that then maybe you’ll believe the real hard stuff. Like the stranger on the street is really your sister, and the poor man is really a King.”
The point is Church doctrine isn’t taught for its own sake. It’s not enough to believe in the Virgin Birth and that’s the end of it. As James tells us, you believe that God is one and that’s all well and good but so do the demons and they tremble. Church doctrine, church teaching, is about giving us a clear and true view of the world. And when we have a clear and true view of the world then we can act accordingly. It matters that Jesus is Lord, it matters that he died for our sins, and it matters that he lives forevermore. The proclamation of the Kingdom of God matters. The Trinity matters.
These things matter not just because it’s better to be right than it is to be wrong, but because once we see aright that this is the world where Jesus walked the earth, and if we see aright that the Spirit is living and active in our midst, then we can live aright as well. By God’s grace. How do we know the poor man is really a King? But because Jesus is himself a pauper. He had no money, he left it to someone else to hold the moneybag. And he said “what you’ve done for the least of these you’ve done also for me.” How do we know the stranger can be family? Because all who are given the Spirit in baptism are adopted as children of God. So we are all family in a way that is thicker than blood. These things are true and they tell us the truth about our lives and our world.
Both the faith by which we believe, and the faith in which we believe give us vision. When we see Jesus aright, we may learn to see the world aright. And when we see things aright we can live aright. But first comes the call, then comes the vision.
In this morning’s Gospel reading we hear Jesus’ call and promise. Jesus calls Philip, and promises Nathaniel true vision. So too today. Jesus calls us, and Jesus promises us true vision. Jesus is on his way to Galilee where he meets Philip and calls him to follow. Philip, of course, drops everything to follow. Philip finds Nathaniel, and shares the good news about Jesus, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” But Nathaniel is incredulous, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” So Philip invites him to come and see. The call that was first extended to Philip, is further extended to Nathaniel. As Jesus called Philip, now Nathaniel is called.
When Jesus sees Nathaniel coming he greets him with, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” This perplexes Nathaniel because he’s never seen Jesus before in his life, so how does Jesus know anything about him? "Where did you get to know me?" He asks.
“I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Jesus says. In other words, Jesus saw him even though he wasn’t really there. It’s unclear what Nathaniel was doing under that fig tree. Maybe he was studying. Maybe he was teaching. But it is enough for Nathaniel, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
As if this account weren’t strange enough, Jesus says something really astonishing and obscure. “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these. Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
What can we make of all this? Jesus calls Philip, who calls Nathaniel. Jesus shows Nathaniel that he truly knows him. Nathaniel responds in faith. And what faith! He knows that Jesus is the one about whom the prophets wrote. He knows he is the Son of God, the King of Israel. But Jesus promises him that with the eyes of faith he will see a greater vision.
That line about angels ascending and descending sounds a lot like Jacob’s vision on the ladder. Jacob, also known as Israel, had a vision when he was on the run. As he lay to sleep on a rock, he saw a ladder reaching to heaven and angels ascending and descending it. When he woke up he said he was at the gate of heaven, and did not know it. And called the place Bethel, meaning house of God.
Perhaps what Jesus is saying is, with the eyes of faith you will see a greater vision than even what you’ve just said. You will not only see by faith the Son of God, you will not only see by faith the King of Israel. What you will see, with the faith I give you, is that I am where heaven and earth meet. I am the one mediator of grace. I am the incarnation. I am God and man.
In Jesus heaven is opened to us. And I don’t just mean heaven is open for us when we die, but heaven is open now. The power that comes from heaven, by the grace of God, is given to his Church. And in the next few weeks we will see how that power was worked in Jesus’ ministry. But the vision Jesus says Nathaniel will have by faith, is a vision we too may have. When we respond to the call of God in faith, and follow him in discipleship, we are given vision. We can see things as they are. Not just a pauper, but a King.
So what have you seen? Have you seen roaming Kings? A large family? Angels ascending and descending? Fire from heaven? Through Jesus we may see these visions and more. By faith we see the way things really are.