By Hilary Dawson, Canon Treasurer
I think those words, ‘when you were under the fig tree, I saw you’, are among the most beautiful in scripture. Spoken by Jesus to Nathanael, they form part of the narrative of the call of the disciples in John’s gospel. Jesus invites Andrew to ‘come and see’. Andrew brings Simon to Jesus, and Jesus renames him Cephas. Jesus invites Philip to follow him, and Philip invites Nathanael. Jesus greets Nathanael with familiarity and evident prior knowledge, and when Nathanael asks Jesus how he knows him, Jesus responds with these words, ‘when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’
This account of the call of the disciples is a description of Jesus’s quiet activity, encountering real people in real places. So far, he has performed no miracles, demonstrated no signs, engaged in no teaching. And yet, one after another, ordinary people get up and follow him, and the ordinary places in which they live and work become holy ground. Before Jesus has turned water into wine, healed the sick, or multiplied loaves and fishes, Nathanael and his friends have perceived the real miracle – Jesus sees them long before they see Jesus. Jesus knows them long before they know Jesus. Jesus loves them long before they have the chance to love Jesus back.
This weekend Exeter Cathedral will host the services of ordination for deacons and priests in the Diocese of Exeter. They will be joyful and prayerful occasions, where families, friends, and representatives of the communities in which they are to serve, come together to give thanks for these women and men who have left their seat under the fig tree to respond to the call to ‘come and see’. Each one of them has been called. Each one of them has been faithful, often through a long and winding journey of discernment, to that call. Each one of them will bring much to the life of the body of Christ.
Ordination services can spark all sorts of responses in the rest of us. For some of us, they are an opportunity to remember our own ordinations. For others, they can help to inspire or crystallise a sense of call to either ordained or lay ministry. This weekend, Nathanael reminds us all from his seat under the fig tree that, whoever we are and wherever we are, we are known, loved and called by name. We too are invited to step out, to come and see, to respond to God’s call to witness to God’s love, which is the work of the whole people of God.