In the Gospel reading today Jesus is in the region of Galilee. He called his future disciple Philip to ministry. And in turn, Philip called his friend Nathanael, otherwise known as Bartholomew, to meet Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah long awaited by the Jewish people.  In response, Nathanael speculatively says, “What good could come out of Nazareth?” Phillip says, “Come and see!” As Nathanael approaches Jesus, Jesus says, “Look, a man who does not have deceit.” This is one area of the Bible where the character of a person is exemplified with great credibility because Jesus himself makes the character statement. In other words, it has to be true because Jesus said it. There are no doubts or second-guessing involved in this circumstance. Further, it’s as though Jesus looked into Nathanael’s soul and saw the details of his life. And he will forever be known as a person of honesty and integrity whom Jesus mentioned by name.

As the celebrations and religious observances for Christmas and New Year’s Day come to a close, we approach the first Sunday of 2018. Here, we encounter the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ, referred to as Danaha in Syriac tradition, Theophany in the Greek tradition, and Epiphany in the Western tradition.

he genealogy recorded in the Gospel of Luke, (Luke 3:23-38), as well as the genealogy recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, (Matthew 1:1-17), have similarities and differences, much of which we are not able to explain here, due to brevity, and scholarship that is beyond the scope of this sermon.

The Gospel Reading today records the “Revelation to St. Joseph,” that is, the announcement from the Angel Gabriel on how Mary, who was soon to be engaged to Joseph, will conceive a son, not by human/physical means, but by the intervention of the Holy Spirit.