John 1:43-51 (NIV) 43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." 44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. 47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." 48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." 50Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Prejudice is the false label we put on people. Prejudice is a closed mind and a cold heart toward certain groups of people. Prejudice is the blanket of misunderstanding we throw over a group of people. Prejudice hides the truth. Prejudice settles over our heart and mind like a comfortable fog and becomes one of the best breeding grounds for fear and violence and hate.
We cannot force prejudice out of anyone’s heart, even our own. But we can have some new experiences that can reach our hearts and that can expose prejudice and can expel prejudice with the power of truth and the power of love. There are new insights, new wonders, and new pieces of wisdom that Jesus would have us to know that will allow us to see into the hearts of others.
Jesus says that as we follow Him God will touch our hearts and open our souls to the truth. It will be as though we are putting on a badly needed pair of glasses and are seeing all kinds of things that had been obscured. We will see all sorts of people who look very different on the outside with different colors and ways of talking and of doing things. But, we will begin to see into their heart. And we will see either a love for Jesus, or we will see someone who needs the love of Christ.
The heavens shall open and the angels will sing the prejudice out of our heart and out of the hearts of people all around us. The angels will be calling you to call others to come and see, to leave that comfortable place of prejudice and then to follow Christ.
Have you heard the angels sing? Do you believe Jesus can drive the prejudice out of people? You will if you have experienced Jesus driving out the prejudice.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 17, 1999
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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