The last couple days I’ve noticed a squirrel outside the window digging through the fallen oak leaves.  This morning he found an acorn and ate it up on the spot.

In the gospel lesson (John 1:45-51), Nathaniel, despite his sarcastic remark about Nazareth, came with Philip to Jesus.  Jesus didn’t take umbrage his insult.  Jesus saw someone who was honest about what he said.  But Jesus also saw someone looking.  He had seen him under the fig tree, a figure of speech for studying.  When Nathaniel saw and heard Jesus, he knew he had found his acorn.  “Teacher, you are the Son of God.  You are the King of Israel.”

Jesus is the acorn of our faith.  Our hope is in Jesus, not Jesus plus a political figure or movement.   It’s Jesus, not Jesus plus several “spiritual” options.  It’s Jesus and not Jesus plus my values.  It’s Jesus and not Jesus plus my preferred “style” of worship.

As LSB Hymn 533. 1 sings, It’s Jesus “who has come and brings pleasure eternal, Alpha Omega, Beginning and End; God-head, humanity union supernal O great Redeemer, you come as our friend.”

It’s Jesus and thus we sing, “God’s own child, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ.”

In Jesus, we discern the world, that we might invite Nathaniel to come and see, Jesus.  He’s all we got, and that’s more than enough.  Jesus, the acorn of our faith.