PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

August 22, 2021

GO AND SEE

Several weeks ago Diane, my oldest son, two of his children and I drove to Mississippi to visit with Diane’s relatives.  We arrived on a Saturday.  The following Friday Carl, the two grandchildren, and I drove home.  Diane stayed to visit with her sisters.

I have to admit before the trip I was somewhat apprehensive.  Almost every week the news had a story about someone being killed or shot because of road rage.  Nightly there seemed to be stories of angry passengers disrupting plane flights.  People were getting testy about wearing masks.  And to make matters worse it was hot and humid.  I was expecting the worst.

My experience was the exact opposite of my expectations.  When we stopped people were friendly, helpful, courteous and pleasant.  No one seemed out of sorts.  Since my experience driving home had been so positive, I paid special attention to the people I met when I returned home.  With a few exceptions they too were positive and upbeat.  When Diane flew home the following Saturday she had an uneventful flight. While I am sure the reports I heard on the television or read about in the newspaper were true, from my experience they would seem to represent only a small minority. On the whole people are much better.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, Philip tells his brother, Nathanael, that he has found the person “about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth. Nathanael (asks) him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’  Philip tells him, ‘Come and see.’” (John 1:45, 46)

At the time of Jesus, Nazareth did not have the best of reputations.  Nathanael assumed since Jesus came from there it was extremely unlikely that he could be the long awaited Messiah. Rather than relying on hearsay, rumors and gossip to form his opinion, Philip invites Nathanael to come and see Jesus for himself and then form his opinion.  When Nathanael actually met Jesus he discovered that his preconceptions about him were wrong.

A lot of my opinions are based on preconceptions which have their origin in second hand information.  My expectations of my trip to Mississippi are an example of this.  When I went and saw for myself I found at best the hysteria about the dangers and the pitfalls of traveling today were over hyped.

Philip suggested to Nathanael that he go and see for himself about Jesus.  I have learned that very often accounts of situations can be quite different from what I saw with my own eyes and ears.  I sometimes wondered if we were even at the same event.  When those reporting had got done with their spin, the event was almost unrecognizable.  We would all do well to base our opinions on first-hand information, not second or third hand.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to obtain first-hand information.  What are we to do?  In reading accounts of events and situations it is good to remember that generally “nouns” have to do with “facts” and “adjectives” and “adverbs” have to do with interpretation.  It is in “adjectives” and “adverbs” that can be found the reporter’s basis, spin, and preconceptions.

We live in a time when our preconceptions may well be based on second-hand knowledge and media commentary.  Just like Nathanael they could well be erroneous.  To get the truth we need to go and see for ourselves.