Listen

The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”

Philip said, “Come and see.”

John 1:43-46

Think

I wonder if this is how my students feel. My students are growing up in what was once the homicide capital of the country back in the 1990s. Despite that reality, the neighborhood was also full of caring, hardworking people years ago, and a community spirit of partnership and hope thrives today amongst many. But it’s still a challenging place to grow up and to imagine.

Can anything from __________be good? You fill in the blank with whatever doubt you have about where you come from, whom you come from, or whatever your life circumstances are or are not.

God’s resounding answer in this passage is yes.

How often does the reality of the hardness of our life circumstances — and the resulting doubt of our self-worth — paralyze us from claiming how beloved we are by God? God knows the reality of our lives yet also makes real a call to discipleship that transcends that, calling each of us to follow, come, and see what grace might transform in our world.

Molly Logan

Pray

Gracious and loving God, help me to see the goodness you see in me and my everyday world. Please continue to invite me to follow you, and give me courage to come and see you in a new way today. Amen.

Go

I said, “I’m here; send me.”

Isaiah 6:8b

May we go into our days celebrating that God knows us, loves us, and calls us to share that grace and care with all whom we encounter today.