A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 1:45-51)
“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.”
In today’s Gospel, John describes Jesus’ first encounter with Bartholomew, traditionally identified with Nathaniel. Philip tells Nathaniel that he has found the Messiah. Nathaniel’s skeptical reply is “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” And then as Jesus sees him, Nathaniel witnesses a miracle. In response to Nathaniel, Jesus says, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathaniel asks Jesus, “How do you know me?” Jesus tells him that before Philip called him, he saw Nathaniel under the fig tree. Nathaniel answers with a beautiful confession of faith, and Jesus tells him: “You will see greater things than this. . . . You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Lord, just as Nathaniel witnessed firsthand the intimate knowledge Jesus had of him—“How do you know me?”—you know me also and desire for me to be a witness of the extraordinary. You reveal to John in the first reading a radiant glimpse of your glory to come, the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, gleaming with your splendor. Yet, today is just another so-called ordinary day. Help me, Lord, recognize your divinity just as Nathaniel came to see Jesus, the Son of Joseph from Nazareth, for who he truly is, the Son of God, the King of Israel, the one whose dominion endures through all generations.
From the responsorial psalm: “Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might.” Saint Bartholomew, apostle of Christ, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.