I’m back again, after a Christmas season too busy to let me produce any podcasts. Let’s see how well I can keep up with them in this new year…
Meanwhile, back in the first chapter of John’s gospel, we have the story of Nathaniel receiving his call to become a disciple of Jesus. John presents him to us as a diligent student of scripture (You missed that bit? It’s hidden in the fig-tree) whose inner integrity is recognised instantly by Jesus. He may have had some sceptical words to say when Philip first gets to him, but when he meets Jesus instantly recognizes that here is the real deal. That’s how it goes, John is telling us: some people are predisposed to recognize the light of God when they see it, and others are just wilfully blind. Perhaps we might learn something from this story about not being discouraged by resistance to the message we bring to our generation. Their reaction to Jesus himself might be quite different to the defences they present to us. In John’s gospel, it is Jesus himself who wins people over to his cause – the disciples just make the introductions.
You can listen to my comments here…
Howard Pilgrim