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Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” - John 1:45-46
Can anything good come out of Nazareth? You may never have been to Nazareth, sixty-four miles north of Jerusalem, or even to Nazareth, PA, 570 miles northeast of Charlotte, but the odds are that you ask some form of this question several times a day. Assumptions, presumptions, snap-judgments –– There is seldom a topic, event, or person that will escape our presumptive and cocksure opinion. The recipe for such opinions is typically one part arrogance and two parts insecurity. Fearing we’ll be exposed as uninformed and slow-witted, we feign mastery of the facts and clairvoyance with regard to character. It’s so strange, we claim to understand their character and motivations, and simultaneously assume they cannot know ours. We’ll pridefully proclaim to be truth-tellers, when in reality, we are truth-forgers, our truths being merely opinions; opinions that are most often incomplete, ill-informed, premature, or even negligent and harmful.
To borrow Paul’s phrase, “we see in a mirror dimly,” and that includes perceptions of others, ownership of truth, and conclusions about most things.
Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Just think if Nathanael had walked away, comfortable enough with his skepticism to ignore what Jesus would reveal about life, about mercy, and about hope. Walking away, his cynicism would grow and his life would be so much less that what it could be.
We seldom know enough to offer the final word about anything or anyone. Each encounter offers the potential for deeper understanding, for greater appreciation, or at least the shedding of arrogance. Holy listening is not limited to the mountaintop or the candlelit chapel. It can happen whenever we set aside our assumptions and pay attention. We may just learn something and feel the breeze of grace.
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