But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see” (Jn 1:46).
Many biblical scholars believe that Nathanael is the same man as the Apostle Bartholomew, who is mentioned in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts. We see in today’s Gospel from John that his initial reaction to Philip’s invitation is doubt. Why? Because of where Jesus came from. Nazareth was a small peasant village with a population of about 1,600 people (Meier, 317). I don’t think its small size would be the main reason for Nathanael’s offering a demeaning jab at the expense of Jesus’ hometown, though he must have had some reason. The more important point is that Nathanael did not allow his preconceived notions of Nazareth to keep him from following Philip’s invitation to “Come and see” (John 1:46).
This is a lesson for us as well, “in our relationship with Jesus we must not be satisfied with words alone… we ourselves must then be personally involved in a close and deep relationship with Jesus” (Pope Benedict XVI, 108). Nathanael felt a deeper invitation than the one offered by Philip. He followed and experienced Jesus in such a way that his life was transformed forever.
Nathanael would not only “come and see”, but after Jesus shared how he first saw Nathanael under the fig tree, Nathanael claimed that Jesus was “the Son of God… the King of Israel” (Jn 1:49). What he was able to see in Jesus, Jesus’ own townsfolk of Nazareth were not able or willing to see. Nathanael was willing to see not only beyond his initial and limited perspective of prejudice, but his human and finite limitations. He received the same revelation as we heard Peter proclaim in yesterday’s gospel. The reality that Jesus is not only the messiah, he is the Son of God.
Jesus would not be a powerful political leader nor military leader, but the suffering servant of Isaiah. Jesus also told Nathanael that he would “see greater things than this” (Jn 1:50). Francis Moloney articulated that: “Faith based on miracles will not suffice; something more is needed. This greater faith will enable all disciples to see the revelation of the heavenly in Jesus, the Son of Man” (Harrington, 57).
Though we do not know a lot about Nathanael, we know that he was willing to set aside his initial doubt and prejudice of Jesus’ hometown. He was willing to encounter, then follow, and remain with Jesus and become one of the Twelve. He experienced in Jesus the wedding of humanity and divinity. He was willing to accept the proposal of the Groom, the Lamb of God, and become the bride of Christ that is richly presented in our first reading from Revelation.
There is speculation that he traveled to India to spread the Gospel he received. Most likely he encountered those who also doubted that anything good could come from the One from Nazareth. There would be those who not only refused to believe his message but killed him. Yet, before and after his martyrdom, some, though initially doubtful, some like Nathanael himself, came, saw, and believed.
St. Bartholomew, “son of Talmay”; Nathanael, “God has given” (Benedict, 107), pray for us that we may resist the temptations of our own biases, doubts, and prejudices, and open our hearts and minds to “come and see” Jesus in the Scriptures, in the Eucharist, in our prayer, in creation, our life situations, and in those we meet today, especially in the distressing disguise of the poor. Help us not only to resist judging and being constricted by our prejudices, but please help us to come and see Jesus as you did, so we can be healed, expand, and made whole again as we breath, receive, rest, and abide in the love of Jesus that he so much thirsts to share with us.
Painting: The Apostle Bartholomew by Rembrandt 1657
Benedict XVI, Pope. The Apostles. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2007.
Meier, John P. A Marginal Jew, vol. 1 : The Roots of the Problem and the Person. New York: Yale University Press, 1991.
Moloney, S.D.B., Francis J. “The Gospel of John, vol. 4.” In Sacra Pagina, edited by Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1998
Spiritual Stepping Stones 