Making the Way Straight: Come and See

 

John 1:43-51

After his encounter with Jesus, Phillip runs into his friend, Nathanael, and tells him about Jesus—“Jesus of Nazareth.” Nathanael is skeptical about a Nazarene Messiah.

In our postmodern world, people are skeptical about almost anything that relates to religion or faith or God. A number of writers and thinkers have produced an amazing body of literature to convince others of the truth and reality of God. This exercise in argumentation is called “apologetics.” Perhaps you like I have been shaped by some of the best apologists of the 20th and 21st Centuries—C.S. Lewis, N.T. Wright, and others. Phillip was probably knowledgeable of the writings of prophets, and he probably could have joined in a lively, argumentative discussion with Nathanael about how Jesus could be the long-awaited Messiah. Instead, he takes a more practical, impactful approach—“Come and see.”

We, too, will run into people who question our faith. They are going to say things like, “Oh, I would never go to church—they’re all a bunch of hypocrites.” Don’t try to change their minds; tell them to come and see. Others will say, “Prayer is useless!” Don’t try to change their minds; invite them to pray. “Read Scripture? That old book?” Don’t argue; invite them to read. A real encounter with God and with others speaks so much more than what we will ever say. This is why we invite people over and over and over to come and be a part of our ministry and mission—visit a Bible study, help in the Manna Food Pantry, join in a ramp build, assist in leading worship, be one of our Communion servers. Come and see.

Nathanael does come and see…and he is transformed. John’s relating of the moment seems rather anticlimactic, even puzzling: “Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel’” (Jn. 1:48b-49). Fig trees were common places to sit and pray and meditate. Nathanael had been praying under the cool shade of a fig tree…so, Jesus’ declaration—“I saw you…”—is more than a statement of ‘location.’ Jesus saw and heard the prayers, dreams, and hopes Nathanael was pouring forth to God. This is good news for Nathanael and for us—it means that Jesus hears us, that God hears us. And, we know this is true because of what Jesus says next.

“Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open...” (Jn. 1:51). Jesus is going to open the door that separates us from God and God from us. Jesus opens the door through his life and teachings, and then he props that door open forever through his death and resurrection. So, God sees us and hears us at kitchen tables, on back decks, on long walks, in the silence of our cars, as we lie on our beds…and longs to bring life to us. John confirms this is in his Gospel: “…These [words] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”

Do you crave this life that God offers? Do you know others who crave this life? The Gospel today, the Good News, invites us: Come and see that we might find life through Jesus.

Sunday, January 4, 2026
Making the Way Straight: Looking Forward (Come and See)
Watch/Listen: HERE

Making the Way Straight: A Voice in the Wilderness

 

John 1:19-34

We begin a journey through the Gospel of John…an odd Gospel in some ways—no parables, and the miracles are often called “signs.” John has a peculiar perspective, but it’s a perspective that will help us know and understand Jesus better. Are you ready?

One of the most important things we need to know from the beginning is why John writes his Gospel. Unlike the other Gospel writers, he tells us explicitly why he is writing: “…these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). John’s hope is three-fold: That readers might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, that readers might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that readers might have life (real life!) through these beliefs. Let’s recall this all through our reading of John’s Gospel.

In the first part of today’s reading, the focus is on the past. The messengers of the priests and scribes come out to John the Baptizer (not to be confused with John the writer!) to find out if he is the Messiah…or Elijah or “the Prophet.” John assures them he is not any of these. The priests and scribes focus on the past. While we don’t need to dwell there, at this time of the year we might do well to stop and consider how well (or badly) we have lived this year. Did we do things well? Are we ending the year where we hoped? Did we make some glaring mistakes? How did the resolutions or plans go this year? Just as John takes a moment to allow his Gospel to look backwards, we, too, need to take a time to look back over the days past.

But, like John, we don’t need to park there. In the next section of today’s reading, everything turns around and faces forward, faces the future. That should not surprise us since God is a future-facing God. The One who created time—something that always moves forward—invites us to look forward…and move forward. So, John the Baptizer turns the conversation towards the future, towards “one who will come after me,” who will be “revealed to Israel,” who “will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” All of this language is future focused. And that is as it should be and as we should be—future-focused.

All through the Advent season, we took some time to look backwards to the words of the prophets. In those words, we found what God wants us to have as we live forward. In the coming of the Promised One, God longs for us to have hope, peace, joy, and love. These are the things God wants us to find in the One born in the manger. As we follow the Gospel story in John in the coming weeks, we find that these things give us that life that God longs for us to have, the life that belief in Jesus brings to us. May we listen, learn, and live as we journey together into the New Year. Amen.

Sunday, December 28, 2025
Making the Way Straight: A Voice in the Wilderness
Watch/Listen: HERE

Advent: Stories of Love

 

Isaiah 43:1-7

You, like I, may have thought or said along the way, “God of the New Testament is a God of love, but God in the Old Testament is all about wrath….” We do find more “wrath” in the Old Testament, but today’s reading reminds us of the unchanging nature of God—God loves us. In this passage, we find God calling us “precious and honored” and we hear God saying, “I love you” (v.4).

Isaiah speaks God’s word to the scattered and shattered people of Israel—some who have wandered far away from the Promised Land and from God, some who have been taken away forcibly, and some who have stayed right at home but who have turned their backs on God. No matter, God says, I’m bringing you all back to me; I’m redeeming you from every corner of the world because you are “my sons and my daughters…whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (v.6-7).

While God speaks these words over the people of Israel 2500 years ago, God speaks these words over us today. At times, we, too, have wandered far from God and the life God wants for us. Some of us have been taken away by ideas and promises that have come to nothing. And some of us still sit each Sunday in the sanctuary, but our hearts and minds have turned their backs on God. God longs to redeem our lives, to bring us back, because we, too, are God’s sons and daughters…created for God’s glory, formed and made by God.

In this passage, we find two beautiful, hope-filled promises: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (v2). At times, we feel as if we’re drowning in all that surrounds us, we feel that the circumstances of life are washing over us. God says we will not drown in all of that. Sometimes we feel as though the fires are popping up all around us. At work we talk about “putting out fires,” not literal fires, but the things we feel threaten us, threaten to burn things down. God says that we will not go up in flames.

The second promise is not a new promise but an old promise, a promise that we need to be reminded of again and again: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (v5). Fear begins as a choice in our lives and quickly becomes a habit. Fear grows out of our sense of powerlessness, out of our realization that we cannot change things or make things happen. God reminds us that this does not matter when God is with us! Where we are weak, God is strong. Where we don’t know, God knows. 

In this Advent season we have been reminded of the hope God longs for us to have. We remember the peace that God brings—God’s shalom. We recall that God longs to fill us with joy—something far more substantial than the happiness predicated on happenings. And today, we are reminded of the loving God who has longed to redeem us from the very beginning. God reveals this love in sending Jesus to the world to live for us and to die for us. Jesus is Immanuel—God with us. What better news could we have as we come to the manger in Bethlehem once more this Christmas season?

May the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas be yours…now and all through the New Year!

Sunday, December 21, 2025
Advent: Stories of Love
Watch/Listen: HERE

Advent: Stories of Joy

 

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Many things have contributed to moments of happiness in my life—learning to water ski, a birthday party for my 16th birthday, Jeanne agreeing to go on a date with me 36+ years ago, the bishop calling to ask me to take the lead pastor position at McAllen FUMC. Yet, all of those happy moments were fleeting, short lived—because happiness is based on happenings. Once the happening is done and over with, the happiness begins to fade. Joy is different, enduring. So, how do we get “joy” in our lives?

In today’s reading from Jeremiah, the prophet is telling the people in captivity in Babylon that God is going to bring them home. Not only will God bring them home, but they will come home with joy. While Jeremiah speaks to a specific people in a specific situation in a specific time of history, the message is universal—for us as well. God long to bring us out of captivity and fill us with joy. Captivity? Us?! Yes… We become captive to fears, to expectations of others, to traditions, and even to our possessions—we find ourselves owned by what we “have” rather than owning what we have. We can be captive to many different things, and these words in Jeremiah speak of freedom…speak of coming back from captivity, coming back with joy.

What is the source of joy for us? God broke into this world through the birth of his son, Jesus. God brought forgiveness, healing, hope, and peace through Jesus—through his life and teachings, through his death and resurrection. God poured out the Spirit on all who would come to God in faith, trusting in God, believing in God’s goodness and grace. And, God preserved the story of all of that in Scripture for us to return to again and again.  Because of those ancient happenings in the world, because of the promises of Scripture, all people everywhere can have and hold on to the joy God longs to pour into our lives.

So, God is the source of our joy. While happiness comes to us briefly from external experiences and circumstances, joy springs from within…and remains with us whether the external circumstances bring happiness or not. What is joy? Joy is the deep, enduring contentment God pours into us, a contentment that grows out of the assurance we have in God and God’s promises.

On this third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy, we remember and celebrate the joy that comes into the world through Jesus beginning with that first Christmas. We can have that joy today when we latch onto, hold onto the provision and promises of God’s mighty acts in history. When we do that, we can begin to know joy…a joy that endures times of darkness and pain, a joy that supports us and buoys us regardless of the happenstances of life.

This is the joy that Jesus brings to us, and this is God’s Good News for us today. Amen!

Sunday, December 14, 2025
Advent: Stories of Joy
Watch/Listen to the sermon: HERE
(And if you want to experience the joy of our children’s Christmas program, watch HERE.)

El Sufrimiento - Nuevo lanzamiento

¡Buenos días desde el sur de Texas!

Muchas gracias a quienes leyeron mi primer libro sobre el sufrimiento. Este nuevo libro invita a nuevas conversaciones, debates más amplios e investigaciones más profundas para dar vida al libro de Job y examinar por qué sufrimos y cómo lidiar con el sufrimiento, tanto el nuestro como el de los demás.

El Sufrimiento - Conversaciones antiguas y contemporáneas (disponible aquí)

Este libro aborda preguntas reales y ofrece respuestas reales.

• Si Dios es bueno y todopoderoso, ¿por qué sufrimos?
• ¿Podemos evitar el sufrimiento?
• ¿Cómo afronto el sufrimiento?
• ¿Hay algún bien en el sufrimiento?
• ¿Cuándo triunfa el sufrimiento?

Estas preguntas y otras más nos rondan la mente mientras lidiamos con enfermedades y lesiones, injusticias, relaciones rotas, agitación social y diversas dificultades en nuestras vidas. En esta obra, escuchamos a Job, Jesús y otros hablar sobre los problemas del sufrimiento... y llegamos a la conclusión de que tenemos una comprensión mucho más clara del sufrimiento y de qué hacer con él en nuestras vidas.

Compra este libro para ti o como regalo para alguien que esté pasando por un momento difícil.

¡Gracias por considerarlo! Le deseo todo lo mejor en esta temporada y en el Año Nuevo. Que Dios los bendiga...

Jon

-- 
Jon A Herrin
Autor, Educador, Teólogo
Author, Educator, Theologian
www.jonherrinwriter.com

New Release - December 2025

 

Finally! It's here! - ¡Por fin! Está aquí...

English: https://tinyurl.com/ypxd2awh

Español: https://tinyurl.com/4mknnzaf

AfterWords: Advent—Stories of Peace

 

Zechariah 9:9-10

The prophet Zechariah foresees that one who would come “lowly and riding on a donkey” would also come proclaiming “peace to the nations.” On this Sunday of Peace in the Advent season, we are reminded of the peace we crave in this world.

In the winter of 1914, what would become known as “World War I” had begun. This horrific war that played out with the most destructive weapons known until that time would claim over 20,000,000 lives. But, before the dreadful end, something amazing happened that first Christmas of the war. Letters, journal, diaries and more help us peace together what today is called the “Christmas Truce.” Spontaneously, in over 140 areas along the Western front of the war, over 100,000 soldiers laid down their arms on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They met in the middle of the no-man’s land of the battlefields, they sang Christmas hymns and carols together across the open spaces, and in at least one setting, Germans and British soldiers set up stakes in the ground as goals…and played soccer together. The generals and commanders of the armies were horrified and ordered that their troops never do such a thing again, ever. And, as far as we know, never again has the peace of the season been allowed on a battlefield.

We need peace not just as an end to war but as calm for the storms of our lives. Many of us crave peace in broken relationships, in painful situations, in the emotional torments in our hearts and minds. Sharon Beuttiger tells her story of finding peace. After discovering a large and growing tumor in her brain, she became consumed with worry—for her two children, for her husband, for her life. As she turned to God in prayer, God reminded her of the promise of Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” God affirmed His care for her children, her husband, and her…no matter what. While she awaits surgery on the tumor, she waits in peace rather than in fear.

The peace Isaiah mentions and that Zechariah talks about is “shalom”—the peace of God. In fact, Shalom does not mean just “peace” as we often think of it today. Shalom also includes contentment, wholeness, welfare, health, a sense of ease. So, yes, God’s shalom is bigger than our “peace.” Jesus, the prince of peace, was born into the pax Romana—the Roman peace that endured for 200 years ensuring relative safety and free trade. But, it was a heavy, oppressive peace that killed anyone who threatened it or was perceived to be a threat to it. How different God’s shalom is from the pax Romana! The Roman peace was imposed from without, forced on all. The shalom of God comes from within…a gift offered to all who will receive it.

During the Season of Advent, God reminds us that this peace is available to us. Whatever storm of life we may face, whatever battles we are caught up in, whatever may be robbing us of sleep or filling us with worry, God longs to pour peace, shalom, into our lives. Let us receive the peace, the shalom, that God offers us in this season as we remember the coming of the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Sunday, December 7, 2025
Advent: Stories of Peace
Watch/Listen: HERE