1/5/2024 (Friday) Today’s gospel reading: John 1:43-51
43 Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And he said to him: Follow me.
44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him: We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth.
46 And Nathanael said to him: Can anything good come from Nazareth? Philip said to him: Come and see.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him: and he said of him: Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no duplicity.
48 Nathanael said to him: How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him: Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.
49 Nathanael answered him, and said: Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”
51 And he said to him: Amen, amen I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
1/5/2024 (Friday) Today’s gospel reflection / homily / sermon: John 1:43-51
The gospel reading presents a profound revelation about Jesus’ identity and the human capacity for recognizing the divine. Jesus demonstrates His divine knowledge by revealing that He saw Nathanael under the fig tree before Philip called him. He declares, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”. This shows us that Jesus sees beyond the surface, into the very core of Nathanael’s being, recognizing his sincerity and openness to truth.
Previously, Nathanael was skeptical about what he heard about Jesus. His dismissive question, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”, holds a deeper significance. Nazareth, a small and often-derided town, represented the limitations of human understanding. It symbolized the inability to conceive of something extraordinary arising from the ordinary.
Yet when Nathanael came face to face with the Lord, his doubt turned into faith as he professed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.” This encounter reminds us that faith is not a static state but a dynamic process, a journey of discovery fueled by curiosity, openness, and willingness to walk with Jesus.
Jesus has the power to transform. Like Nathanael, we can approach Jesus, accept Him as our king and allow Him to reveal the mysteries of the divine. When we continually seek to understand and actively engage in spiritual exercises like prayer and scripture reading, we will come to know more of ourselves just as Jesus revealed the interior being of Nathanael. More importantly, we will come to a deeper relationship with God through Jesus.
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