God Will Redeem Your Difficulties – Second Sunday After Ephiphany, Year B.
God Will Redeem the Difficulties
I read an article recently from the British Broadcasting Network about a town in Nigeria celebrating their tiny village’s renaming. The name was “The village of idiots.” Some 70 years ago, the people settled too close to a river known as “The idiotic river.”
One man from there said, “It was shameful telling people that I came from the “area of idiots.” So, the village elder decided to finally change the name. The area of idiots down by the idiotic river got a new name, “The area of plenty.” I think it’s safe to say that’s an improvement.
I couldn’t help myself… I had to read the comments. One particular kind-hearted gentleman said, “Now it’s the village of plenty… of idiots.”
There’s a lot in a name. Last week I had some fun and researched some… interesting… town names. There’s Nothing Arizona, and there’s Nowhere Colorado… But wait… there’s Hell for Certain, Kentucky. Perhaps you dated someone from there once or twice.
There’s knockemstiff Ohio. Apparently, it doesn’t refer to fighting, but it’s supposedly a reference to the power and the octane level of their moonshine. It will knock em’ stiff!
One of my favorites was Slapout, Oklahoma. Apparently, way back in the good ole’ days, limited inventory plagued the local store; it was always “slap out” of whatever you needed.
That brings us to today’s Gospel reading: Philip tells his brother Nathaniel, “We’ve found the Christ; he is Jesus of Nazareth!” Nathaniel says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Nazareth in the Culture
His suspicion was partly justified. In the 1st century, Nazareth wasn’t quite a gated community. It was Nowhere Galilee, and it was slap out of a good reputation.
Nazareth was infamous for not being the most welcoming of places. People saw the residents as “Those people from the north.” They were the backwoods knockemstiff moonshine runners.
To put it in the Star Wars universe… Nazareth is the outer rim planet of Tatooine.
“Hey Nathaniel, we found the Christ; he’s Jesus from Nazareth.”
Nazareth Earned its Reputation
Nazareth’s issues are even listed in the Gospels!
Luke says Jesus preached his first sermon in his hometown synagogue. While there, he had what bishop Russell would call “a run-in” with religious officials.
Jesus stood and read the Isaiah scroll where it says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring the Good News to the poor.” Then he sat down and said, “Today, you watched this fulfilled in your hearing.”
Now, there’s a mystery here. Was Jesus talking about the financially poor? Or… as I see it… was “the poor” actually those present who were spiritually anorexic?
We know it made the men of Nazareth so furious that they drove him out of town and tried to throw him over the cliff outside the city gates!
They were all justice and no mercy.
No wonder that Nathaniel says, “Can anything good come from Hell for Certain Galilee?
Nazareth: Underneath the Fig Tree
But then the text turns in a different direction that raises our curiosity. Jesus meets Nathaniel and tells him, “you’re a man of integrity, and you do not manipulate others for your own gain.”
Nathaniel says, “How do you know me? I certainly don’t know you.”
There’s sarcasm there; “You’re making this statement about who I am, but you don’t even know me.”
That’s when I saw something that I had never seen before. I always looked over it with each lectionary cycle. Jesus says, “While you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Then Nathaniel says, “Rabbi, you are the son of God.”
The Jewish faith says the Torah is like a “Tree of Knowledge.” It produces the fruit of new teachings generation after generation. Those who studied the Torah were said to be “sitting under the fig tree.” Now that’s quite an abrupt change! First, it was, “Nazareth? Impossible.” Then it was, “Don’t judge me; you don’t even know me.” Now, out of nowhere, Nathaniel does a complete 180—”You’re the son of God.”
I spent about two hours researching the Talmud and Midrash, and what I found opened my eyes.
To “sit under a fig tree” meant to sit under the shade of a Rabbi’s teaching, enjoying the fruit of his instruction and wisdom of the Torah.[1]
Jesus knew Nathaniel was a student. That’s why he says, “I see all the work you put into the study of the Messiah. As a matter of fact, that’s what you were doing the moment Phillip called you to tell you about the Messiah—to you about me.”Then Nathaniel realizes that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus opens his eyes about the Messiah, but he also opens his eyes about Nazareth.
Nathaniel ruled out Nazareth. It couldn’t possibly be a place of redemption! But when he meets Jesus, suddenly the dark areas on the map and the bad neighborhoods downtown do not matter to him anymore.
Jesus opens his eyes, and Jesus transforms Nazareth.
Transforming Nazareth
Now, let’s step back from the 1st century for a moment and pull it forward into our day. Let’s personalize Nazareth.
What about the places in the soul that cause us shame? Or the scars we carry but won’t reveal? What about the tears, the fears that we’re too embarrassed to show?
There is a Nazareth in each of our souls! The Good news is that when we encounter the real Christ, God can take a stain on a map and transform it into a story of redemption.
But let’s step back even more and put Nazareth in an even larger context—let’s look at it socially.
I wonder if Nazareth was a little bit like Selma, Alabama. I wonder if no one wanted to go to Nowhere Alabama because it was a place with a dark reputation and a darker history?
Jesus couldn’t be present in a place like Selma! But Martin Luther King Jr. showed us that yes, God can begin a march in Selma that transforms a nation. Dr. King showed us that the Gospel is good news to the captives. Dr. King showed us that Jesus, faith, hope, love, justice, and peace were the liberating powers of God that overcome oppression.
There are plenty of Nazareths in our society today. Some are personal… some are social… But like Nathaniel, when we encounter the real Christ, we can proclaim what I titled this sermon:
God Will Redeem Your Struggles.
Amen.
Sermon for second Sunday after Epiphany
[1] See underthefigtree.com; myjewishlearning.com and Talmud Bekhorot 45b for tree as a sign of one’s behavior, and “sitting under a rabbi” as an illustration.
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