As I believe I have mentioned before on ACM, Elise and I purchased a house in Pennsylvania a couple years ago. We also recently sold our place in the Chicago area. The Pennsylvania house was purchased “as is”. Meaning that what we saw is what we got. No further work was to be expected to be done on the place. The rest was up to us. Now this does not mean the place was a wreck. It had been rehabbed over the previous 5 or 6 years and was in pretty good shape. But we needed to give some input after purchase. Furniture was needed, doors painted, new doors hung, trim work on the windows, new garage doors, gardening to be updated, etc. As any of you know who own your own home, it never really ends. But we did get to the point that the house was in a condition where we could share it with others.
And sharing meant invitations. Once the place had become ours…personalized, in effect, to reflect a bit more of who we are as individuals and as a couple…we wanted to share it with our friends and family. So we put out invites. I think Elise especially wanted her family and friends from Illinois to come out as a means of justifying our move to Pennsylvania. That we did the right thing by picking up and moving halfway across the country. Some of the people we invited have accepted, while others have not. For a variety of reasons. Too far to travel, busy with their own lives, maybe uncomfortable staying with someone else under their roof. For whatever reasons they elected to decline our invite.
What is an invitation? One definition is “a request or solicitation. An attempt to get another to join you at an event.” And when do we extend an invitation to others? I think when we have something we find important enough to share with others. Particularly those we care about (which should be, as Jesus told us, everyone). We have found the lost sheep or the lost coin and we invite others to celebrate this good news. We want them to become part of something that we have discovered so that they can also experience the joy we have found.
In the Gospel today, we hear such an invitation. Philip finds Nathaniel resting under a fig tree and tells him that he has found the Messiah…from Nazareth of all places. Nathaniel comments how nothing good could be coming from such a place as Nazareth. Philip does not debate him about this point. He merely says to his brother, “Come and See”. Nathaniel accepts the invitation and follows Philip to Jesus where he discovers for himself the Messiah, the true Son of God. And his life will never be the same.
Actually, a few verses before our portion today, Jesus makes a similar invitation to Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, and one other disciple of John the Baptist. That second disciple likely was Philip. John the Baptist declared to the two as Jesus was walking by that “there goes to Lamb of God”. They follow Jesus and askes Jesus where He is staying. He responds by inviting them to “Come, and you will see.” They accept and that acceptance leads to Philip’s invitation to Nathaniel and Andrew inviting Simon.
Now we all know that not everyone Jesus invited to follow Him did so. Most of the House of Israel, the Chosen People of God, did not accept His invitation. The Pharisee Nicodemus, who was intrigued by Jesus and was likely a secret follower, declined to leave his life as a rabbinic scholar to follow Christ. The rich young man was reluctant to give up all his riches to follow. I believe that the more we have, the less likely we are to step out of our comfort zone, to accept an invitation into the unknown. So Jesus went to the Gentiles and extended His invitation to those on the margins. Those not in Jerusalem’s inner circle. And many more accepted His invite and the world was changed forever.
God’s invitation to dwell with Him in this life and the one to come is for everyone. Saint and sinner alike. “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14) It is the conclusion of the parable of the wedding feast where the master has put out an invite to his closest friends and relatives to come to the wedding feast but each declines the offer with a variety of excuses. The offer is then extended to those on the edges of society. And many, but not all, came. John shows us in today’s readings from Revelation what we will find when we accept that invite.
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Later, the chapter concludes with:
…but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
So, how do we respond to the invitation. Maybe when someone asks us to accompany them to Mass. Or maybe a bible study. Or maybe a fund raising dinner at church. Or to just “Come and See.”
