FIRST READING
Revelation 21:9b-14
The angel spoke to me, saying,
“Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal. It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west. The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to men your might and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
ALLELUIA
John 1:49b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
John 1:45-51
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 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.”
REFLECTIONS:
How can we know with certainty that Jesus
is truly who he claims to be the Son of God and Savior of the world?
Philip was eager to tell his friend Nathaniel (who is also known as Bartholomew
in Matthew 10:3 and Luke 6:14) about his decision to be a disciple of Jesus.
Philip tried to convince his friend that Jesus was the Messiah, whom Moses
and the prophets had foretold. Nathanial was very skeptical because he
didn't think it was possible for the Messiah to come from Nazareth, a town
in Galilee. Nathaniel not only disliked the town of Nazareth, he despised
its residents as unworthy of religious toleration. "How could anything
good come from such a place?" Nazareth was at the crossroads of the ancient
world where people from different cultures and religions would pass through.
Perhaps Nathaniel thought its religious teachers were not orthodox
in their understanding and interpretation of the law of Moses. Besides,
how could the Messiah come from Galilee when the prophets said he would
come from Bethlehem of Judaea? Aren't we all a bit like Nathaniel? We are
skeptical when someone tries to convince us of the truth until we can comprehend
it for ourselves.
So what kind of proof did Philip offer to Nathaniel? Rather than argue
with his friend, Philip took the wiser strategy of inviting Nathaniel
to "come and see" for himself who this Jesus claimed to be. Clever arguments
rarely win people to the gospel; but an encounter with the person of Jesus
Christ can change one's life forever. When people are receptive to the
word of Christ and when they see his love in action, the Lord Jesus himself,
through the power of the Holy Spirit, touches their hearts and opens their
minds to God's revelation.
When Philip brought Nathaniel to Jesus, Jesus did something which only
God could do! He opened Nathaniel's heart and his innermost thoughts and
desires to God's revelation. Jesus called Nathaniel a true "Israelite in
whom there is no guile." God had chosen Jacob, who was given the name Israel,
over his twin brother Essau, because Jacob was a man of faith, without
guile or cunning like Essau (Genesis 25:27). Nathaniel, like Jacob,
hungered for God and believed in God's promises. Nathaniel knew the scriptures;
he had read the law and the prophets. And like Jacob he was waiting for
the fulfillment of God's promises to his people Israel. Nathaniel was an
earnest seeker of God. He not only sought to grow in understanding of God's
word, but he sought an intimate personal relationship with God as well.
That is why he was willing to meet Jesus, to see if perhaps this miracle
worker from Galilee might be the long-awaited Messiah and Savior.
God places in every heart a desire and intimate yearning to personally
know the One who created us in love for love. Saint Augustine of Hippo,
who found God only after many years of wandering in disbelief and spiritual
darkness, exclaimed in his autobiographical
Confessions: You have
made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest
in You.
What is the significance of Jesus' revelation of seeing Nathanial under
the fig tree? The fig tree was a symbol of God's blessing and peace. It
provided shade from the midday sun and a cool place to retreat and rest.
It is possible that Philip spoke with Nathaniel about the Messiah under
the shade of the fig tree. Or maybe this was Nathanial's favorite
place for daily prayer and meditation on God's word. Perhaps he dozed off
for a midday nap and dreamed of God's kindgom like Jacob did while he slept
under the stars and saw a vision of a great ladder or stairway which united
earth with heaven (Genesis 28:12). Nathaniel accepted Jesus as Messiah
and Lord because Jesus spoke to the need of his innermost being his desire
to know God personally and to be united with him in his glory. Jesus' response
to Nathanial's new faith is the promise that he himself will be the "ladder
which unites earth with heaven" (see Genesis 28:12-17). God had opened
a door for Jacob that brought him and his people into a new relationship
with the living God. In Jacob's dream God revealed his angelic host and
showed him the throne of heaven and promised Jacob that he and descendants
would dwell with the living God.
Jesus proclaims to Nathanial that he himself is the fulfillment of this
promise to the Patriarch Jacob. Jesus is the true ladder or stairway to
heaven. In Jesus' incarnation, the divine Son of God taking on human flesh
for our sake, we see the union of heaven and earth God making his dwelling
with us and bringing us into the heavenly reality of his kingdom. Jesus'
death on the Cross and his Resurrection opens the way for each of us to
come into a new relationship with God as his sons and daughters. The Lord
Jesus opens the way for each of us to "ascend to heaven" and to bring "heaven
to earth" in the daily circumstances of our lives. God's kingdom is present
in those who seek him and who do his will. Do you pray as Jesus taught,
May
your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew
6:10)?
"Heavenly Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, you have opened the
way to heaven for us. As you revealed yourself to your beloved Patriarchs and Apostles, so reveal yourself to me that I may glorify you in my daily
life. May I always find joy in your presence and never lose sight of the
kingdom of heaven.
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