Thursday, August 24, 2017
21th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Rev 21:9-14
Gospel: John 1:45-51
Philip found Natha nael and said to him, “We have found the one that Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets as well: he is Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.” Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree and I saw you.”
Nathanael answered, “Master, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said: ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that.
Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Isn’t it surprising that on the feast of Bartholomew today, the Gospel talks about Nathanael? Let us be enlightened by the following. Nathanael is mentioned only in the Gospel of John where Bartholomew is never mentioned. This hints to the possibility that Nathanael and Bartholomew refer to one and the same person. The surname of a person on those days was also determined by the name of his father. In the language that this Gospel was written, “bar” means “son of”. Nathanael may have been the son of Ptolemy, and his complete identification may have been Nathanael Bar-Ptolemy (Bartholomew).
Nathanael Bartholomew reacted to Philip’s claim that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. He asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael Bartholomew was from Cana, and there was rivalry between Nazareth and Cana at that time.
His turning point was when Jesus told him: “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” To an Israelite, a fig tree was symbol of peace. He must have been praying often under the fig tree asking God to reveal the promised messiah. When Jesus said he saw him under the fig tree, Nathanael must have told himself: Here is finally the one who knew my thoughts and aspirations.
But Jesus showed him that he could do more than read thoughts. Making reference to Genesis 28: 12, 13 Jesus said: “You will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” It was as if to tell him, “Far from reading minds, I can be your ladder to heaven”.
Like Nathanael, we are invited to set aside intellectual pride and come to Jesus, the fulfillment of our aspirations. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM.
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