This weekend we will celebrate Come and See Sunday.

Each year on this day, we orient our service with guests especially in mind. Throughout the liturgy, we’ll pause occasionally to explain what is happening, why we do what we do and what it means. If you’ve ever worried that the liturgy might feel unfamiliar or inaccessible to a friend you’d otherwise like to bring to church, this is a perfect Sunday to invite them to simply come and see.

The expression “come and see” comes from the story of Nathanael. When Philip tells him that he has found Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael is skeptical: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip doesn’t argue with him. He doesn’t try to answer every objection or convince Nathanael that he’s wrong. He simply says, “Come and see.”

Philip didn’t have every answer to every question, but he had encountered Jesus and that was enough. So he invited his friend to experience for himself what Philip had already found.

As Nathanael approaches, Jesus doesn’t immediately answer his questions. Instead, Jesus says something unexpected: “I saw you under the fig tree.” We aren’t told exactly what happened beneath that tree or why those words mattered so deeply to Nathanael. But they did. Something changes in him. His skepticism gives way to awe.

Nathanael thought he needed to know before he could believe. Instead, he discovered that he was already known.

He came to see; he left having been seen.

That is part of what we experience in the liturgy, too. We come seeking, questioning, hoping, or perhaps simply wondering, and we encounter the possibility not only of knowing God, but of being known by him.

This week, I’d encourage you to have a little of Philip’s boldness. You don’t need to have all the answers. You don’t need the perfect explanation or the perfect invitation. If you have tasted the stream of living water, invite someone you love to have a sip.

This Sunday, we will gather expecting an encounter with the living Christ. Bring a friend, a neighbor, or someone who has questions.

Come and see.