Reading 1
Dn 7:9-10, 13-14
As I watched:
Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened, and the books were opened.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw
One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.
Or
Rv 12:7-12ab
War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown down with it.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our God day and night.
They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5
R. (1) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD
when they hear the words of your mouth;
And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD
"Great is the glory of the LORD
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Gospel
Jn 1:47-51
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
"Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him."
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."
Nathanael answered him,
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
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."
And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Meditation: John 1:47-51
Article Tools
Text Size
Print-Friendly
Email this article
The Archangels
You will see greater things than this. (John 1:50)
Nathanael was impressed. Jesus had seen him from afar and made an insightful assessment of his personality. In fact, he may have even been pleased that Jesus called him a true son of Israel. But Jesus tells him not to stop there. He had something even greater in mind: Nathanael would see heaven itself open up!
We have all had those moments when heaven seems to break into our everyday existence. Maybe we got a phone call from a long-lost friend, or had a solution to a problem present itself out of the blue. We might have felt the presence of the Lord at Mass, or had a particular Scripture passage touch our hearts deeply. We may have felt the Holy Spirit using us to help a coworker just when he or she needed encouragement. God was truly moving in our lives.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The heavenly realities that Jesus wants us to experience, the “greater things” that he promised, are all about the reshaping of our hearts and minds. It’s no good seeing heaven opened if we aren’t changed so that we can begin to live a heavenly life on earth! The “flashes of heaven” we experience are meant to draw us toward Jesus. They are meant to give us glimpses of the intimacy God wants to have with us. God uses them to urge us to spend more time with Jesus, reflect on our priorities, and put aside whatever gets in his way.
It isn’t always easy to make these changes. The angels “ascending and descending” recalls the story of Jacob seeing angels going up and down a ladder in a dream, and shortly thereafter wrestling with God’s representative before receiving the name “Israel,” which means “one who strives with God” (Genesis 32:23-31). So a true child of Israel like Nathanael—or us—may end up struggling from time to time in order to let go of his plans and accept God’s will. But that’s okay. Because when the struggle is over and heaven breaks through, we end up much closer to Jesus. And we end up much more like him!
“Father, open my eyes to the ways that you are drawing me closer to you, so that I can be more like you. I want my life to reflect heaven here on earth!”
No comments:
Post a Comment