Gospel JN 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.”
Reflection:
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.”
The definition of duplicity: “speaking or acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter.” In other words, to be deceitful.
Prior to Nathanael arriving, Jesus had seen him sitting under a fig tree. Every Jew who was familiar with scripture would have known the words from the book of Micha 4:4.
“But they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.”
To be able to sit in the shade of one’s own tree with peace of
mind and heart is truly a sign of an untroubled soul and a clear
conscience.
When our heart has no deceit and we have nothing to hide, then
we have no anxiety. Jesus could see that Nathanael was a man with a pure heart.
The best thing about the truth is we do not have to remember it; it stands on its own merit. A lie, however, has to be remembered. For by its very nature, it has the potential to ensnare us.
No wonder Nathanael could sit peacefully under the fig tree.
His mind was free of guilt.
Sadly, we are not all like Nathanael. Human nature is such that most of us are guilty of being duplicitous to some degree.
But God can turn all things for good. And even guilt can prove to be a positive influence to turn us back to our loving Father, whose forgiveness will enable us to sit peacefully in the shade of our own tree.
“Peace visits not the guilty mind.”
Juvenal