Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

 The following day Jesus wanted 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."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

- John 1:43-51

In yesterday's reading, the Gospel told us:  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now 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 own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).

 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."   We recall that, reflecting Genesis like a mirror, John's Gospel begins with the words "In the beginning" to give us a Prologue about who the Christ is, eternally.  Then we begin a sequence of seven days, as in the Book of Genesis.  Today's reading corresponds to the fourth day of the start of Jesus' ministry.  Jesus has already called two disciples, Andrew and Peter (or "Cephas" - rock).  (A third was present but not named, often considered to be the author of this Gospel.)  "Follow Me" is the true call from Christ, by which He calls so many more, and continues to call to us.

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."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  My study bible suggests that no deceit means both having a pure heart and being straightforward with others.

Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  My study bible tells us:  "What exactly occurred under the fig tree is not stated.  St. John Chrysostom teaches this was the meeting place of Philip and Nathanael, and that Jesus was praising Nathanael for being so diligent and careful in His search for the Messiah.  Christ's foreknowledge and His ability to see into Nathanael's heart stir him to this confession of faith."

And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."  A note tells us here:  "The title Son of Man is a title of the Messiah that had a level of mystery in its meaning, indicating a man of heavenly origin who would usher in the Kingdom of God (Daniel 7:13-14).  In an Old Testament prophecy, Jacob dreamed of a ladder connecting earth to heaven, upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:12-15).  Jesus is this 'ladder' who unites earth to heaven, and therefore is this Son of Man."

We have reviewed over the past couple of readings, and also in today's reading, how John's Gospel gives us the Prologue (vv. 1-18) to tell us who the Son is, before all time.  The words in the beginning tell us about a time before we know; the Gospel starts by teaching us that the eternal Son, the Word (logos), always was.  And then we are taken to the first seven days of this worldly ministry -- into a different sense of time.  The Light that is eternal has come to join us, in our time, human time, and His ministry is a reflection of that, of what that is, exactly.  So, we get seven days of the ministry.  In today's reading, we are in  the fourth day, in which two more disciples are called (Philip and Nathanael).   About this fourth day, my study bible notes that Philip and Nathanael "see Christ as the true Light, the One who was revealed in the Old Testament, a lesser light.  This parallels the establishment of the lesser and greater lights governing the night and the day respectively on the fourth day in Genesis 1:14-19."  What we also notice today is Nathanael's blunt question:  "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  (Later in the gospel, we'll read about the leadership's scathing criticism that no prophet comes from Galilee.)   But Nazareth, Jesus' hometown in which He was raised, gives us food for thought about this vast difference, the greatness of the expanse between the Logos, who already was "in the beginning," and the humility of Jesus' life.  A sense of this is introduced when Jesus speaks to Nathanael about the Son of Man, with heaven opened and angels ascending and descending.   A "great light and little light" indeed.  This is how we begin to comprehend the scale not only of God's love, but how the human incarnation of the Light brings everything down to us, so that we may even scoff at His humble life.  God's time becomes encapsulated in our time, an eternal reality becomes the reality of a small town with a not-very-exalted reputation.  In a human scale, the light shines in the darkness.  It begins.  And it is just as it should be.