Episode 789
Invitation to Openness: Discovering God in Unexpected Communities | 789
The central theme of today's discussion revolves around the profound encounter between Jesus, Philip, and Nathanael, which challenges our preconceived notions and invites us to recognize the divine presence in unexpected places. We delve into the narrative from the Gospel of John, emphasizing the significance of seeing beyond our assumptions, particularly in light of Nathanael's skepticism regarding Jesus' origins. This episode elucidates the importance of radical openness and the breaking down of social and geographic barriers, encouraging us to engage with communities we may have previously overlooked. Furthermore, we explore the concept of progressive revelation, which urges us to embrace a continually evolving understanding of faith and divine love. As we reflect on these insights, we are called to take actionable steps towards inclusivity, fostering a deeper connection with the diverse tapestry of humanity.
The "Daily Bible Refresh" is presented each day by Rev. Dr. Brad Miller who has a goal of speaking a bit of the bible into two million ears (one million people) in three years (2025-2028).
He is the author of "The A, B, C-1,2,3 Bible Study Guide" Free to you by clicking HERE.
Brad served as a local church pastor for forty years and has a background in radio and podcasting. Moreover, he is a life-long student of The Bible.
He believes in the words of Jesus that “scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21)
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- Understandable: A reading from the New Testament (usually the Gospel) selected from the Revised Common Lectionary using "The Message" translation.
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Takeaways:
- The narrative between Jesus, Philip, and Nathaniel challenges our preconceptions and biases about others.
- We are invited to recognize God's presence in ordinary, everyday moments, transcending geographical and social barriers.
- Progressive Christianity encourages an evolving understanding of faith, justice, and divine love, inviting deeper insights.
- The story emphasizes the importance of radical openness, urging us to seek understanding from those we may overlook.
- The passage invites us to reflect on the communities we dismiss and to learn from them, fostering inclusivity.
- Engaging in thoughtful dialogue with diverse perspectives can enrich our spiritual journey and broaden our horizons.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker A:Hello, good people, and welcome to Daily Bible Refresh, brought to you by voiceofgoddaily.com I'm Dr.
Speaker A:Brad Miller.
Speaker A:We're here to offer you a live reading, a daily reading from the New Testament in the Bible.
Speaker A:We use the Revised Common Lectionary.
Speaker A:We're in year C, the epiphany season.
Speaker A:We make it understandable by reading from the message version of the Bible, relatable by offering you some takeaway points.
Speaker A:We call them points to ponder and applicable by giving you an action step to take.
Speaker A:We have a prayer.
Speaker A:We do all of that in under 10 minutes.
Speaker A:Today's reading is from the Gospel of John, first chapter, verses 43 through 51.
Speaker A:Reading from the message.
Speaker A:The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee.
Speaker A:When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, come, follow me.
Speaker A:Philip's hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.
Speaker A:Philip went and found Nathaniel and told him, we've found the one Moses wrote of in the law, the one preached about by the prophets.
Speaker A:It's Jesus, Joseph's son, the one from Nazareth.
Speaker A:Nathaniel said, nazareth?
Speaker A:You got to be kidding me.
Speaker A:But Philip said, come see for yourself.
Speaker A:When Jesus saw him coming, he said, there's a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.
Speaker A:Nathaniel said, where did you get that idea?
Speaker A:You don't know me.
Speaker A:Jesus said, Jesus answered, one day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree.
Speaker A:Nathanael exclaimed, rabbi, you are the Son of God, the King of Israel.
Speaker A:And Jesus said, you've become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree.
Speaker A:You haven't seen anything yet.
Speaker A:Before this is over, you're going to see heaven open and God's angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.
Speaker A:A great passage of scripture about seeing beyond our assumptions.
Speaker A:And we're just really exploring this encounter between Jesus and Philip and Nathanael.
Speaker A:And it really kind of challenges our preconceptions and invites us to a deeper understanding of God's presence, a divine presence in our lives.
Speaker A:Let's talk about a few points to ponder.
Speaker A:There is the breaking of geographic and social barriers.
Speaker A:Jesus of Nazareth's origin became a stumbling block for Nathaniel, who asked, can anything good come from Nazareth?
Speaker A:And this moment reminds us how often we let prejudices, assumptions about certain communities or regions or societal biases limit our ability to recognize that God is at work.
Speaker A:There's a divine thing happening here.
Speaker A:In our modern context, we might say, what Nazareths do?
Speaker A:We dismiss in our own time people from other regions or other cultures or other languages?
Speaker A:And which communities or voices do we kind of want to quickly write off?
Speaker A:Another point is radical recognition.
Speaker A:The Bible tells us here that authentic spiritual encounters often happen in ordinary places, like under a fig tree.
Speaker A:Jesus saw Nathanael in this everyday moment, suggesting that God's divine presence isn't limited to religious spaces or churches or synagogues or temples or formal worship.
Speaker A:This challenges us to recognize that sacred encounters can happen anywhere, with anyone, and break down any barriers we might have between secular and sacred.
Speaker A:One more point.
Speaker A:It's about progressive revelation.
Speaker A:Jesus tells Nathaniel, you haven't seen anything yet, and this points to the evolving, growing nature of faith and understanding.
Speaker A:Progressive Christianity embraces the concept that our understanding of God, justice and love should continually expand and develop.
Speaker A:We're invited not to settle for initial insights, but to remain open to a greater thing happening.
Speaker A:Here's your action step for the day.
Speaker A:Challenge yourself to have a Nazareth moment.
Speaker A:That is, identify a group of people or a community or geographic area or perspective that you may have dismissed or overlooked, and intentionally seek out to learn more about them through voice or interaction or through writing or direct conversation.
Speaker A:Practice the radical openness that Philip showed when he simply said, come and see.
Speaker A:We're going to pray in just a moment.
Speaker A:But I did want you to know that here at at Daily Bible Refresh, we have a Bible study tool for you to use.
Speaker A:You can find it@voiceofgoddaily.com which is our website.
Speaker A:It's called the ABC 1, 2, 3 Bible Study Guide, and indeed it makes your Bible study for you at home as easy as ABC 1, 2, 3.
Speaker A:You could check it out@voiceofgoddaily.com it's also where you can find out all about the back episode of our Daily Bible Refresh episodes, well over 700 of them.
Speaker A:And check out the transcripts as well.
Speaker A:But let's pray.
Speaker A:Divine God we confess that, like Nathaniel, we often let our prejudices cloud our vision.
Speaker A:Help us to see beyond our assumptions and preconceptions.
Speaker A:Grant us the courage to recognize your presence in unexpected places and people.
Speaker A:May we be open to new understandings and deeper, deeper revelations of your love and justice in the world.
Speaker A:Give us the wisdom to see as you see and the strength to challenge our own biases.
Speaker A:Guide us as we seek to create a more inclusive and just world where no person or place is dismissed as unworthy in the spirit of love and hope.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Well, it has been a joy to be with you here on Daily Bible Refresh.
Speaker A:Always love it.
Speaker A:Hope that you do too.
Speaker A:Please invite other folks to join us.
Speaker A:We usually drop these episodes before 6am every day.
Speaker A:So you can catch me tomorrow here on the Daily Bible Refresh.
Speaker A:You catch all the episodes and everything we're all about@voiceofgoddaily.com My name is Dr.
Speaker A:Brad Miller.
Speaker A:I'll be with you tomorrow.
Speaker A:Until then, remember that God's loyal love doesn't run out.
Speaker A:His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new.
