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COME AND SEE

January 18, 2015, 2 Epiphany
John 1: 43-51
Philip tells Nathaneal hes seen the Messiah. Its Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth.
Nathaneal responds with his one famous line in the Bible, Can anything good come out of
Nazareth? Come and see, Philip says, come and see.
Back in the Middle Ages, when I attended the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin,
Texas, I used to like to go with friends to what were then called saloons, where you could not
only get a pitcher of Lone Star Beer for a dollar but also hear some pretty good live country
music. Now I know that in some circles then and there as well as here and now this is
tantamount to heresy, but Ive never been a huge fan of country music. So the first time I was
invited to go hear some, I was ambivalent. I was a hotshot New Yorker, a veteran concert-goer
whod seen some of the biggest names then in popular music - The Who, The Stones, Dylan,
Elton John, The Band, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers, The Dead (I could go on for a while, but
Im worried Sue might get exhausted rolling her eyes and wondering if Im about to get out my
air guitar). I have to remember that the point of this sermon isnt about music but assumptions.
Finding myself down there in Austin, my arrogant question was, in essence, can anything good
come out of Texas?
Well, of course it didnt take long to find out Austin was a great music town, especially then in
the heyday of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and the other outlaws. Back then, before Austin
City Limits was even a gleam in some PBS executives eyes, for someone with as limited vision
as mine, it actually took going to see to find out exactly how much good there was coming out of
Texas. Because not only was there a lively, first-rate music scene and amazingly inexpensive
beer, there were also some of the friendliest people Ive ever met anywhere. Seminary served its
purpose, I guess, but I never fully assimilated its strange, cloistered atmosphere. So kicking
back and conversing with any number of interesting, normal people I had no trouble meeting at
some very non-seminary type venues tended to be the highlight of my weeks. And heres the
reason I mention all this. Often the conversations I had there would lead to where I was from.
New York?! New York CITY??!! I was amazed at how often that just didnt compute with
otherwise lovely, open-minded people. I guess theyd heard a lot of stories. This was the 70s,
long before New York had to some extent cleaned up its act and cut its crime rate. Anyway, the
reaction I got again and again was tantamount to can anything good come out of New York?
Come and see, I used to say, come and see.
Fast forward to here and now. I know that some of you have heard some pretty strange if not
outrageous assertions about our fledgling little church. I hear yall dont say the creed. Why
did that woman who runs the Episcopal Church tell Bishop Lawrence he had to ordain gays and

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transvestites? Why is she so hostile to us down here? Are yall a part of Trinity Church? Does
Wey Camp come and lead your services? Yall left the Episcopal Church, right? Do you
believe in God? read the bible? pray?
What can you say to those kind of misperceptions and assumptions? What else but come and
see?
When I was a social work intern on a busy hospital floor, I did something I wasnt supposed to
do (I cant remember what it was - doesnt matter), and my not very genial supervisor asked me
why Id done whatever it was. I told her that Id assumed that was the thing to do, and she
practically screamed at me, never assume anything! Not an exactly pleasant admonition, and
certainly not always applicable - sometimes of course we have to make assumptions - but pretty
good advice nevertheless. I think many if not all of us go around making all kinds of
assumptions when it would be wiser not to . . . when itd be better to first check things out a little
more thoroughly, to consider other possibilities . . . to go and see. Those whove assumed that
we in our church or diocese have abandoned all standards of Christian morality and coveted
property that isnt ours would have a difficult time validating that assumption if they came and
conversed and worshipped with us . . . if they came and heard our prayers and saw our
outreach and opened their minds to the possibility that their assumptions just might be off base.
Of course, good humble Christians that we are, eventually were going to need to call a hiatus in
challenging and disproving all the false assumptions about us out there and begin to wonder if
there arent a few assumptions weve made that could bear a little more checking out . . . a little
more introspection. I know Im more than a little susceptible to vilifying just about anyone with
whom I disagree, and Im not alone. More and more angry, ill-informed, one-side attacks seem
to be whats happening all over the place out there. I blame Fox News for it. They dont care
about facts. They dont go and see. They pillory any politician who even dares mention the new
C word - compromise. Theyre all about my way or the highway. Theyre the essence of
cynicism. They exploit anger and fear, because it sells. Theyre evil, evil, evil.
But hold on a minute. Wasnt I just confessing my tendency to vilify people who oppose my
viewpoints? Well, hooray for me, but how long did it take me to morph that nod towards humility
into acting out exactly what I was trying to condemn? Hypocritical? Moi? Now I truly do believe
every word I just threw at Fox, but the other truth is I dont really want to hear what I dont want
to hear. Im undoubtedly way too invested in my liberalism to consider any inconvenient
conservative views.
Let me illustrate how serious a shortcoming that kind of knee jerk loyalty can be - deadly
serious, in fact. Years ago a woman named Barbara and her husband came into my office the
day shed been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a horrible, almost always fatal disease. Her
hematologist wanted to begin aggressive chemotherapy at once. Incredibly enough, and very

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unusually, I was able to offer them both some valuable advice right away - go get a second
opinion. They did, and the myeloma specialist at one of the premier cancer centers in the world
told them Barbaras cancer was early Stage 1 and that, until it progressed, she should do
nothing beyond monitoring it closely and adopting a healthy lifestyle. As part of the latter,
Barbara decided to seek regular emotional support through what turned out to be 4 years of
twice weekly psychotherapy. During that time, she dug up some long repressed, extremely
painful memories, which she tried to discuss with her parents. But no matter how she pleaded,
they refused to even begin to have that discussion, which only added to her pain. Finally, in
frustration and a need for self-preservation, Barbara cut off all communication with them. In
effect, she wrote them off and immediately the burden of that psychic pain eased up
considerably, to the point where she began to feel a happiness and centeredness she claimed
shed never felt in her whole life.
But that isnt the point. When Barbaras cancer finally started its inevitable progression and she
began treatment, I was amazed when I visited her in the hospital. Rather than the inspirational,
determined fighter Id come to admire in my office, here was an abject figure, with not only her
meals but her meds sitting unattended on her bedside tray, her eyes cast down, her attention
wavering, her spirit depleted. I just didnt get it. I knew full well that chemotherapy can be a
horrible ordeal, often far in excess of what anyone can imagine until experiencing it. But I dont
think Id ever met a warrior like Barbara. How could all that spirit have disappeared so quickly?
Well, it took some digging, but Barbara finally owned up to what had happened. Her first
experience of the chemo had been much worse than shed anticipated, but its what happened
as she was coming out of the worst of the physical torture that had undone her. In a nutshell,
she ever so unexpectedly found that in her vulnerability she wanted her mommy! After years of
having invested in a hard won and principled stand against the person whod disappointed her
most, a yearning for something primitive and ineffable - that near perfect bond between mother
and child, long forgotten but still there - overcame a huge chunk of what shed fortified herself
with. And she felt as if shed betrayed herself, as if the impossible conflict where her emotions
felt disloyal to her intellect left her powerless and aimless, with no place to go, nothing to live for.
And it killed her. Within a month she was dead. Her death certificate didnt say anything about
her disloyalty to herself, it was something about infections due to a compromised immune
system, but she knew it, I knew it, and her husband and daughter knew it too. A ravaged spirit
took her life.
Ill never forget what was one of the greatest disappointments of my life, a great woman who
died before her time. I continue to grieve not only her loss, but, after so much that she and I
worked through together, my failure to give her anything of value when it mattered most.
Im pretty good at not seeing myself as anyones savior. That job is already taken. So what Im
left with today is wanting to salvage something of value that, if I cant give to Barbara, perhaps I
can try out on you. And its this: Dont take your loyalties lightly, especially your loyalties to

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stances . . . your assumptions. Dont get so caught up in what seems so very clearly to be the
right thing, the right belief, that you cut yourself off from hearing other beliefs, other parts of
yourself and other parts of the communion you share with others. Keep struggling, not just for
righteousness (whatever that is), but for an open mind.
Can anything good come out of that person whos so diametrically opposed to you?
Well, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Come and see, dear friends, come and see.
Amen.