“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” – the question Nathaniel asks Philip when being told about Jesus. Philip tells his brother to “come and see.” No matter where we may find ourselves in service and ministry, no matter how obscure, God’s goodness and light are there to bless our endeavors.
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
In this luminous season after Epiphany, we will gather, very soon, as districts. Lay members to Annual Conference, lay leaders and clergy are invited to come from every local church. In these gatherings, we will have conversation together about the work proceeding through the Commission on the Way Forward and the Council of Bishops. This work is relative to our movement toward the called session of the General Conference in February, 2019. This called session will be devoted only to the matters related to human sexuality and the conversations that we’ll have in these next weeks are opportunities for you to receive an update on the work of the commission, to talk together in small table conversation, and to add your wisdom to this ongoing effort. I look forward to seeing you very soon.
The text appointed for this next Sunday contains one of the best questions in scripture. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Nathaniel asked the question of his brother Phillip. Philip has come to say, “We have seen Jesus of Nazareth.” “Can anything good come out of Nazareth, this small obscure place?” Nathaniel asked, and Philip responds with a beautiful invitation, “Come and see. Come and see.”
Every place that we occupy in our expansive lives, in this expansive world, is indeed a small place, yet we in all of our small places, in the places where we are called to live and serve and give witness, in these places, God’s light breaks through. In each of these places, we seek the unity of the spirit which is God’s good gift.
Let us continue to pray for our church as we move through this time with faithfulness, with confidence, with peace, and with joy.