29-Sep-15

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.”
Reflection:
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”
Last week, in the gospel of Luke, we read that the disciples were arguing about who would have the seats next to him when Jesus came into his kingdom. In Nathanael, Jesus has found a person who has no duplicity, no second agenda.
Like a little child, Nathanael was ready to believe that Jesus was the long awaited "Son of God" simply because Jesus told him, "I saw you under the fig tree."
In reading this passage, one can almost detect a sense of relief in Jesus' voice.
Jesus replied to Nathanael's simple faith by saying,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Nathanael accepted Jesus' call and became his disciple. And, as promised, Nathanael witnessed the Ascension of Christ. (Luke 24: 50-53)
After Christ's Ascension, Nathanael became a missionary to India and died a martyr spreading the gospel.
May we, like Nathanael, accept the teachings of Jesus Christ without question and with a heart dedicated to making known the love of the Father for all of his children.
"Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart." Mencius