Gospel: John 1:45-51 -
Philip found Nathanael 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.”
REFLECTION
Eating is both an animal and a human function: our animal nature is drawn up into a higher form of life where it is not destroyed but given a deeper and wider meaning. The still more extraordinary thing is that human life in turn is drawn up into a still higher form of life: the supernatural. Again, it is not destroyed by being so raised, rather it is enriched and deepened, in such a way that the simplest things (like eating) can become symbols of the most sublime. Jesus compared the Kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast, and in the Eucharist everything we believe about God and Christ and our life’s destiny is expressed in the form of a shared meal. It is common knowledge that a meal prepared by someone who loves you is different from a meal prepared without love.
CLARETIAN COMMUNICATIONS FOUNDATION, INC.
8 Mayumi Street, U.P. Village, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (02) 921-3984, 922-9806 • Fax: (02) 921-6205
