Reflection for September 29 Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time: John 1:47-51

Gospel: John 1:47-51

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.”Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “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.”

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Reflection:

Do we believe that Jesus knows us very well?

Many may find it difficult to believe, but the truth is that Jesus knows each and every one of us very well. He knows our thoughts, our struggles, our hopes, our fears, and even the deepest desires of our hearts. Nothing about us is hidden from Him. Even what we are thinking right now is already known to Jesus.

If Jesus knows everything about us, why doesn’t He intervene whenever we are on the verge of committing sin? It is because God has given us free will—the freedom to choose what we want to do. He does not force us to do what is right. Instead, He lovingly allows us to choose, while continually inviting us to follow His ways.

Yet when we sincerely strive to draw closer to Jesus, we begin to experience His presence and movement in our lives. When we faithfully attend Holy Mass, spend time reading the Holy Bible, pray, and strive to live according to His teachings, our hearts gradually become more sensitive to His presence. We begin to recognize that Jesus is not distant from us. He is quietly working in our lives, guiding us, strengthening us, and calling us to become better followers of Him.

When we choose to draw closer to Jesus, we also open the door of our hearts and invite Him to take a more active part in our lives. It is not that Jesus was ever absent; rather, our closeness to Him helps us become more aware of His presence and His loving action in our lives.

In the Gospel, Nathanael was surprised when Jesus revealed that He already knew him. Yet when we look at Nathanael’s life, it should not surprise us that Jesus knew him beforehand, because Nathanael was quietly seeking God and reflecting on the things of God. His heart was open to truth, and Jesus saw what was within him.

Jesus also sees what is within each one of us. He knows the battles we silently fight, the burdens we carry, the prayers we have not yet spoken, and the longing within our hearts to know Him more deeply. He knows us completely, yet He patiently waits for us to freely turn toward Him.

Let us therefore not be afraid to draw closer to Jesus. Let us seek Him in Holy Mass, in Sacred Scripture, in prayer, in the silence of our hearts, and in the people and circumstances through which He touches our lives. The closer we come to Him, the more clearly we may recognize His loving presence.

Do we truly desire to experience the movement of Jesus in our lives? And since He already knows us completely, are we ready to open our hearts completely to Him and freely allow Him to lead us closer to God?— Marino J. Dasmarinas