The J Word

Sermon based upon
1 Samuel 3:1-10 & John 1:43-51

The J word; “journey”. I’m sure any of you who like me occasionally find themselves drawn into reality TV shows may well shudder at it’s mention. Each participant in shows such as Strictly, The X-Factor, I’m a Celebrity or Big Brother talk of their incredible journey, as they progress through each week of the shows.

The J word has become a bit cringey, but for the life of me I really struggle to find another word to use which so encompasses the emotional, spiritual and physical changes and experiences a person goes through over a period of time.

The synonyms my laptop offered were pretty lack-lustre; trip, voyage, expedition, drive? They don’t have quite the same weight or meaning to them.

You can define a journey as an act of travelling from one place to another, this doesn’t have to be a physical place, where you are doesn’t necessarily mean geography. It can mean where are you in your life, where are you in your faith, where are you in your relationships.

It may not surprise those of you who’ve spent much time with me but I’m a massive geek. Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of The Rings, Discworld, Douglas Adams, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love a good story and if it’s got an element of fantasy or sci-fi then all the better.

This genre, when done well, is all about the story telling and the characters. I’ve been reading Terry Pratchett books for the past 30 years because I want to spend time with these characters, see what they’re doing, where they’re up to and how they’ve developed. With these groups of stories, you spend years in these places, with these characters, journeying with them.

When reading today’s scripture, I couldn’t help but think of Bilbo Baggins, The Middlearth Hobbit who gets dragged from his quiet, comfortable life and sent on all manner of adventures, fraught with excitement and danger. I may just have lost some of you, so I’ll explain a little.

Bilbo lives in a picturesque village, in a comfortable home. He appears to be a gentleman of leisure. He enjoys food, ale and his pipe. He does not have adventures.

Gandalf is a wizard. He thinks an adventure is exactly what Bilbo needs, therefore through some slightly underhand tactics Gandalf puts events in place that means Bilbo has, very unexpectedly, the adventure and journey of his life. Bilbo comes back forever changed, but very much the better for it.

He’s not the same character we meet at the beginning of the tale and nor should he be after everything he experiences.
In our readings from 1 Samuel and John’s gospel we meet several people at the beginning of their own unexpected journeys.

Samuel, at a time when the scripture tells this sort of thing didn’t happen, is called in the night. He’s confused, thinking Eli the priest is calling him, but Eli perceives what’s really happening and encourages Samuel to listen to God’s voice.

Samuel, who would have been perhaps about 11 when called, goes on to become a great prophet and leader. He’s the old testament king-maker, anointing both Saul and David at God’s instruction.

In the reading from John we see Phillip and Nathanael called by Jesus. Like Gandalf with Bilbo Jesus knows that these men are just who he needs to join his group and do what needs to be done. We know virtually nothing about these men.

Philip was from Bethsaida, like Andrew and Peter. He was there when John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the lamb of God, and some of the gospel narrative might indicate he was a link to the Greek speaking community.

Nathanael is Philip’s friend, and we often forget him. He’s only mentioned in John and is called Bartholomew in the other gospels and book of Acts. Jesus amazes him with a tale of seeing him waiting under the fig tree, Nathanael’s reaction is a bit OTT, especially as at first he’s a bit snarky about Nazareth and Jesus’s reply is along the lines of “if you think that’s good, well you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

The fig tree may be a clue to knowing more about Nathanael. This was a sacred place for prayer or teaching, you’d often find the rabbi there and young men would go and learn at the rabbi’s feet, hoping to be chosen as their disciples and successors. Nathanael gets chosen alright.

These three men, Samuel, Philip and Nathanael were all called, all began an unexpected journey, not one of them knowing where it would lead or how it would change them.

I would imagine that when most of us begin a journey, a physical journey, we like to plan each aspect of it, to know where the stops will be and what our eventual destination will be.

A journey with God isn’t like this at all, if we do try and plan God has a way of rerouting us.

We’re each of us on a journey, we’re changed people because of it. I’m always a bit flummoxed when someone tells me their partner has changed, that they’re not the person they were- but how odd would we be if we didn’t change? If our experiences along the way didn’t alter us? I was 17 when I met my husband- I would hope I’m not the same person more than 20 years down the line.

There’s a quote by Albert Einstein isn’t there- The only source of knowledge is experience. Through our journeys I’d like to think we gain or grow in wisdom.

Our relationship with God and with our faith is a journey, we may all be travelling at our own pace but we’re not alone, like Bilbo Baggins, Harry Potter or even the disciples we’re surrounded by people journeying with us. The healthiest faith communities foster a sense of support and mutual flourishing, knowing it’ not just our journey.

A life of faith is never a solo ride, but a communal one. We’re been created to be communal beings. And this doesn’t just mean the community within this church. Our call as people of faith is to journey alongside all God’s people, whoever they are.

It might be a good opportunity for us to stand still at the start of this new year, to take a moment to pause, think about where we’ve come from, where we might be heading and who’s travelling with us. Are we, like Samuel maybe hearing that repeated call in the night and not realising it’s God? Or like Philip and Nathanael is he right is front of us, revealing himself and more than ready to show us more.

Through the character of Gandalf, J.R.R Tolkien, a committed Christian, said something very simple and very profound which always comes to my mind when I’m trying to figure out where God is calling me to next;
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

There’s just one final thought I want to share with you, and it comes from my favourite on-screen clergyman, Shepherd Derrial Book in the TV series Firefly. When asked, in the first episode of the show, why he doesn’t care where he’s travelling to he responds;
‘Cause how you get there is the worthier part.