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

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

Yesterday we read that, the day after John the Baptist testified regarding Jesus' Baptism, 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."  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."  This is the fourth day of seven given in John's Gospel.  Paralleling Genesis (as do the opening words of the Gospel, In the beginning), we are given the first week of Christ's earthly ministry.  In today's reading, Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael.  In Genesis 1:14-19, the lesser and greater lights governing night and day are established on the fourth day.  In today's reading Philip and Nathanael come to see Christ as the true Light, the One revealed through the Scripture of the Old Testament, a lesser light reflecting Christ's true glory.

And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  John's Gospel reminds us of the prejudices regarding Galilee, with its mixed populations of both Jews and Gentiles.  As we noted in yesterday's reading, in chapter 7, the Pharisees claim, "Search and look, for no prophet has  arisen out of Galilee" (see 7:45-52).  But this is false, for the Prophet Jonah was from Gath Hepher of Galilee (2 Kings 14:25). 

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  My study bible says that no deceit means both having a pure heart and being straightforward with others.  This is the second time that John's Gospel teaches us about Jesus' immediate insight and knowledge of the hearts of people.  In yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus immediately named Simon "Cephas" (Aramaic for a Stone) upon calling him as a disciple.  "Peter" is the English version of the Greek name meaning Stone (Gr. Petros).

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 comments that what exactly happened under the fig tree is not something we're told.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this was the meeting place of Philip and Nathanael, and Jesus is praising Nathanael for being diligent and careful in His search for the Messiah (Can anything good come out of Nazareth?).  Jesus' foreknowledge and insight into Nathanael's heart powerfully result in Nathanael's 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."  The title Son of Man is one title of the Messiah.  My study bible notes that there is a level of mystery in its meaning; it indicates a man of heavenly origin who would usher in the Kingdom of God (Daniel 7:13-14).  Jesus refers to the Old Testament prophecy in which Jacob dreamed of a ladder which connected earth and heaven, upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:12-15).  Jesus is Himself the "ladder" uniting earth to heaven, and therefore is also this Son of Man.

It's most intriguing that Jesus gives us the imagery from Jacob's Ladder, the dream in which Jacob saw angels ascending and descending upon a ladder that linked heaven and earth.  If we consider these early days of Jesus' ministry, in which disciples seem to come together, one link at a time, and find themselves being called by Jesus, we certainly must begin to suspect that angels are at work behind the scenes.  How did Jesus happen to observe Nathanael under the fig tree?  Is it just by coincidence that Philip found Nathanael?  How does it happen that Philip is from the same city as Andrew and Peter?  Are these things coincidences?  We must consider the properties of angels at work, bringing people together -- in which supposedly random coincidences seem to be timed just right.  Jesus' allusion to the angels of God ascending and descending upon Him teaches us something about His ministry and His work in the world.  After Jesus is sent by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil, Matthew's Gospel tells us that the angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:11).  Luke's Gospel tells us that when Jesus was struggling in agony in the garden of Gethsemane, an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him (Luke 22:43).  When Jesus is seized in the garden, and Peter strikes the servant of the high priest with a sword, Jesus tells him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" (Matthew 26:53-54).   The angels, clearly, are always present to Jesus' ministry, and Christ Himself is clearly aware of their presence and working together with them.  Later on, after Pentecost, the angels will be present in the mission of the Church, as we are told that an angel freed St. Peter from prison, causing the chains with which he was bound to fall of his hands, and leading him past the guards (Acts 12:4-17).  What we should truly stop to consider here is how angels play a role in all of our lives, whether or not we are aware of their presence.  The Church has long accepted that each one of us has a Guardian Angel, one who watches over us and seeks to guide us into the truth of Christ and the communion of all the Church and its saints.  But of their number and ministry, we can never know the full extent of the roles that angels play in the "invisible" creation that surrounds us.  But our Lord clearly has in mind for us to be aware of their presence and their work among us -- and the central role they play in His ministry.  It is, after all, upon Him that Jesus tells Nathanael he will see angels ascending and descending.  Therefore, while we are told that for each one of us human beings, our relationship to Christ defines identity -- we are also told that Christ is the center of creation for the angels as well.  In a book called His Angels at Our Side, Fr. John Horgan writes, "The angels stand over all of creation. There is not one atom or particle that is not somehow under their care."  The angels play this role in our lives too, bringing together what are seemingly coincidental happenings for our notice, creating opportunities for choice, enlightenment, and encounter with Christ.  If we could but understand when those opportunities arise!   Let us remember, also, that St. Paul tells us, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" (Hebrews 13:2), referring to angels of the Lord who visit Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 18, 19).   Jesus emphasizes the point when He teaches the disciples, "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10).  Moreover, the angels who continually worship and adore in heaven simultaneously celebrate with us in the liturgy, linking yet again heaven and earth through the Ladder who is Christ.  If each one -- even the least -- whom we encounter has an angel in heaven who beholds the face of God the Father, what does it tell us about our lives in the world, and how little we may truly know of what is happening around us?  Let us be aware that each moment may be important, even as Christ was observing Nathanael under the fig tree.