Can Anything Good Come Out of ____________?

In John 1:43-51, Jesus has begun to gather his disciples. After Jesus invites Phillip to join him, Phillip excitedly tells Nathaniel: “We’ve found the one Moses and the prophets told us about! Jesus of Nazareth!” Nathaniel scoffs, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”--because Nazareth is considered the other side of the tracks, the wrong side of town. For Nathaniel, who believes the lies he’s been told about the place, certainly Nazareth can’t be a place where a savior could be from?

Phillip doesn’t let him wallow in what John Wesley called, his “popular prejudices.” He tells him to put what he’s been told aside and see for himself. It is in his personal encounter with Jesus that his prejudices fall and he sees Jesus for who he truly is.

This weekend, may we put down the lies we have been told about others. May we drop our prejudices and biases and allow the truth of another’s life to shine the light of God’s love into our own life. This weekend is “Human Relations Sunday” in The United Methodist Church. It is always held the Sunday before Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. In these days when falsehoods are being fostered and prejudices are promoted, may we bear testimony to the world of an alternative vision that the Gospel provides and that King lived out in word and deed:

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

May we challenge the falsehoods that diminish and deny the dignity and humanity of others. May we commit ourselves to inviting others to “Come and see” the love of God that dwells in the lives of those around us.