A few years ago, inhabitants of a village in northern Nigeria celebrated the renaming of their village. The old name of the town in the Hausa language was \u201cArea of Idiots.\u201d The new name of the village is \u201cArea of Plenty.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The local emir announced the name change after residents complained that they had been mocked for years because of that name and were ashamed to tell people where they came from. The village gained its initial name about 70 years ago when people settled close to a river known as the Idiotic River. And no, I don\u2019t know why the river has that name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The predicament of that village calls to mind the names of some towns here in the United States. What if you lived in Intercourse, Pennsylvania? Or Nothing, Arizona? Or Hell for Certain, Kentucky? Or Satan\u2019s Kingdom, Massachusetts? Or Boogertown, North Carolina? Or Knockemstiff, Ohio? (By the way, the name Knockemstiff doesn\u2019t refer to fighting, but is actually thought to be a reference to the strength of the local moonshine. Knockemstiff.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s Slapout, Oklahoma. Apparently, Slapout\u2019s unusual name comes from the local store having low inventory\u2014of being \u201cslap out\u201d of whatever customers wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings us to today\u2019s Gospel. A man named Philip has just encountered Christ and has been won over to him. He, in turn, reaches out to a friend, Nathanael, and tells him, \u201cWe have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote\u2014Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathanael is dubious. He says, \u201cNazareth? Can anything good <\/em>come out of Nazareth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathanael wasn\u2019t very impressed with Nazareth. While it doesn\u2019t have an embarrassing name like Boogertown, there was obviously nothing of note about Nazareth. It was what it was, a small, dusty, insignificant village of stone homes struggling to stay solvent. Nazareth was unremarkable, undistinguished, unconsidered.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what does a bad rep for Jesus\u2019 \u201chometown\u201d offer us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of this as the Gospel writer\u2019s offer of verbal intensive care to a world that needs a Savior who is accessible to all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verbal intensive care offers believable, accessible words to people when they are in the midst of a terrible crisis. Instead of denying the situation, verbal intensive care addresses the immediate needs of the person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re the first on the scene of a hit-and-run accident, hovering over the injured while screeching \u201cDon\u2019t die, don\u2019t die!\u201d isn\u2019t going to offer much reassurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re the first to come upon someone injured in a car wreck, promising that \u201ceverything is fine\u201d or \u201cyou\u2019re okay\u201d is not going to ring true either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verbal intensive care deals with the real. Verbal intensive care tells the truth: \u201cI know you\u2019re in pain. An ambulance is on the way. You\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan anything good come out of Nazareth?\u201d is the verbal intensive care we all need to hear. It tells the truth to all of us, because we all<\/em> feel like we\u2019re from Nazareth. The best evidence that proves America is not yet quite a cleanly classless society is our across-the-board conviction that we are all born \u201con the wrong side of the tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some of us, those \u201ctracks\u201d are made of money. We were born genuinely poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some of us, those \u201ctracks\u201d are made of social ties. We are not socially \u201cacceptable\u201d somehow \u2014 too slow, too sad, too different, too wimpy, too moody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some of us, those \u201ctracks\u201d are physical \u2013 we are too fat, too skinny, too ugly, too smart, too handicapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our souls, we are all coming out of our own \u201cNazareth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathanael\u2019s question, \u201cCan anything good come out of Nazareth\u201d can be phrased another way in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan anything good come out of my depleted pension?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan anything good come out of my pink slip?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan anything good come out of my spouse\u2019s death?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan anything good come out of my child\u2019s addiction?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan anything good come out of the Gaza mess?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is in these \u201cworst times\u201d in the \u201cworst places\u201d of our life, that God\u2019s presence pours in. When you\u2019re at your lowest ebb, when you\u2019re at your worst point, when you are most destroyed, destitute, disinherited, and bankrupt, when you are most damned and damaged, then and there\u2026God wants to do His greatest work in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why just when you think everything is coming to an end<\/em>, everything is really just beginning<\/em>. That\u2019s why what Paul called \u201cthe word of the cross\u201d (I Corinthians 1:18) is really the wisdom of God. What the world called \u201cthe worst of the cross,\u201d the ultimate tragedy, this is where God did His greatest work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working \u201cout of Nazareth\u201d is always a hazardous commute. When God \u201cis up to something\u201d in your life, there are two things you can count on. Martin Luther described one perfectly \u2014 \u201cWhere God builds a church, the Devil builds a chapel.\u201d Evil is active and will gladly move in to add more chaos to our crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the second certainty we can cling to is that God will do His greatest work in the worst of places. God does His greatest work in the worst of times. God does His greatest work in the worst part of you. In that deepest, darkest hole in your soul, that is where God will send the deepest roots of redemption and forgiveness. That is why Jesus hung on the cross for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are at your lowest ebb . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are at your worst point . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are most destroyed, destitute, disinherited and bankrupt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are most damned and damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then and there. . . God wants to do His greatest work in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you think everything is coming to an end, everything is really just beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all come \u201cout of Nazareth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But \u201cout of Nazareth\u201d comes God\u2019s best to bless others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice how today\u2019s Gospel ends. <\/strong>When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, \u201cHere is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s interesting, don\u2019t you think? Jesus realizes that Nathanael is a person who is also true to his values. He\u2019s a quality young man. Jesus always appreciates people of character, people of integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do you know me?\u201d Nathanael asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus answered, \u201cI saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Nathanael takes a step that goes even beyond integrity. He finds a purpose. He declares, \u201cRabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Nathanael becomes a follower of Jesus. He discovered who Jesus really was and he wanted to follow him. Jesus already knew everything about Nathanael. Just as Jesus knows everything about us. Still, Christ wants to have a relationship with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you willing to take that step? It makes no difference where you come from\u2014even if it\u2019s Hell for Certain, KY. It doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019ve done with your life up to this point\u2014even if you\u2019ve been terribly prejudiced toward residents of Boogertown, North Carolina. It\u2019s not too late for you to change. Jesus wants an eternal relationship with you. He\u2019s looking for a few more Nathanaels. He\u2019s looking for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few years ago, inhabitants of a village in northern Nigeria celebrated the renaming of their village. The old name of the town in the Hausa language was \u201cArea of Idiots.\u201d The new name of the village is \u201cArea of Plenty.\u201d   The local emir announced the name change after residents complained that they had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n