Sir, We Would Like to
See Jesus
“Some
Greeks … came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir,
we would like to see Jesus’.”
This
identification of Philip is significant.
And like Philip, Andrew was also from Galilee and had a Greek name.
By the
standards of the Jews who were from Judea, Philip and Andrew would be
considered a kind of third class Jews. Judean
Jews looked down upon Galilean Jews.
Worse, their Greek names suggest that their parents or ancestors must
have either lived for a time outside of Palestine, or had adopted some gentile
cultural practices.
Yet, what
certain people might have considered inferior helped Philip and Andrew bring outsiders
to Jesus. Those Greeks must have felt
comfortable with Philip and Andrew. The
two had names that they could relate to.
Besides, Philip and Andrew probably spoke their language.
Isn’t it
an example of the last shall be first?
Or is it
a case of “the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies and produces much
fruits”?
Lent
offers me a chance to have a clearer understanding of my true self, to die to
what is superficial, and allow Jesus to use me, with all I am, as his
instrument to draw others to him.
Image source: www.agnusday.org
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