John 1:35-51
At that time, John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “Where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.”
They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! ” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In our Gospel reading today we have a series of events in which various men are called to follow Christ, either directly by our Lord or by others who have been called by Him, and how they respond to that call.
First, we meet with two disciples of Saint John the Baptist, who points out Christ to them, declaring ‘behold the Lamb of God.’ At first, they simply follow Him, without approaching Him. But He sees them and asks what it is that they seek. And when they respond by asking where He is saying, He tells them to come and see.
We know the name of only one of these two men. He is Saint Andrew, the brother of Saint Peter. And after he and his friend have spent the night with our Lord, he goes and finds his brother and tells him that he has found the Messiah. Saint Peter at once follows him to meet with Jesus. And he too becomes a follower of Christ.
The next day Jesus decides to go the Galilee; but first he seeks out Saint Philip. Why He does this is not mentioned. However, the Fathers consider that since both our Lord and Saint Philip were from Galilee, they most likely were known to each other. Jesus says to him ‘Follow me,’ and he does.
But before they begin the journey to Galilee, Saint Philip goes to find another man, Saint Nathanael, and tells him about Jesus. He explains that He is the One of Whom Moses and the Prophets spoke, in other words that He is the Messiah. Saint Nathanael is sceptical at first, replying ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ The Fathers explain that he responds this way because he is a scholar, learned in the Law. And he knows that the Messiah was to arise not in Nazareth, but Bethlehem.
He does not know at this point that it is indeed Bethlehem where Jesus was born. So, naturally he doubts. But Saint Philip persists. ‘Come and see,’ he tells him. And as a result, Saint Nathanael does.
As he approaches the Lord, Jesus calls out ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!’ Saint Nathanael is taken aback at this statement. He has never met this man before. How can He know anything about Him. So, still somewhat suspicious, he replies by asking the Lord ‘How do you know me?’ No doubt he expects some ordinary kind of explanation, that perhaps this man knows him by reputation. Or perhaps his friend, Saint Philip who invited him to meet with this man, has spoken to Him about him. But the response he receives shocks him to the core. ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’
Saint Nathanael understands this at once for the miracle that it is. Where he sat under the tree is nowhere close to where Jesus was. Our Lord could not have seen him there. And Saint Philip could not have told Him about the fig tree before he left. He did not know that was where he was. He had go and find him. There was only way Jesus could have known; and that was by Divine Power. Which is why he at once cries out: ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’
We may note that all four of these men became followers of Christ in different ways. Saint Andrew has Him pointed out to him by Saint John the Baptist. Saint Peter was taken to Him by his brother, Saint Andrew. Saint Philip was sought out and called directly by our Lord Himself. And Saint Nathanael, somewhat unwillingly, was brought to Jesus by his friend, Saint Philip.
There are two lessons for us to be found in the calling of these men that I wish to share with you. The first is that there are many paths to Christ. Some may be baptised as infants and raised in the Faith. Others may be drawn to the Faith as adults and quickly convert to it and are baptised. Others may spend many years in doubt, and thought, and study, before finally recognising the truth of the Faith and being baptised. It is not for us to judge how others are called. Our part is to recognise that they were called and rejoice that they have answered the call and that they have entered into the Faith in the same way as all of the Faith are – through Holy Baptism.
The second is that having found Jesus, these men did not treat the Faith as some kind of secret to be kept to themselves. They shared it with others. Saints Andrew and Philip we see doing so at once. And we know that since they, along with Saint Peter, among the twelve Apostles, they continued to do so until their dying breath. And Saint Nathanael, you will recall, was present with Saints John, Peter, Thomas on the beach with our Lord in the final chapter of this Gospel; so, we know he remained a close disciple of Jesus until His Ascension, and, therefore, certainly one who continued to spread the Faith thereafter.
For this is how the Faith spreads. We are called, we answer, and we call others. This is the witness of those who went before us. And this must be our witness also. I pray this will be your witness, and the witness of those you call, and those whom they call, and so on until the end of days. Amen.
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