Gospel: Jn 1:43-51
The next day, Jesus decided to set off for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets: 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.”
Reflections
THERE IS NO FALSEHOOD IN HIM
Jesus seldom praises a person in public. But when he saw Nathanael, he said in undisguised admiration: THERE IS NO FALSEHOOD IN HIM. Another version says: THERE IS NO GUILE IN HIM which adds the subtle nuance of INNOCENCE. A person with no guile is one who is wholely herself/himself. There is no pretense, no hidden agendas, no artifice, no complication, no masks — absolutely transparent. What you see is what you get.
In our society, there is so much falsehood, pretense and hypocrisy. Corrupt government officials are living in continuous lie because they have to cover up all the time the many false transactions and bloated budgets that make up their day. The campaign speeches of political candidates are replete with blatant falsehood, hidden agendas, false promises they do not mean to keep. Even the Church is not immune from falsehood. There are priests who make moralistic homilies in the pulpit and yet are guilty of sexual abuse.
In our personal lives we meet temptations to cheat, to pretend, to tell lies, to bear false witness against our neighbors, to live double lives. In this atmosphere of falsehood, it is indeed refreshing to meet a “person with no guile” who personifies truth, authenticity and integrity.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
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