A True Disciple of the Lord

Today we celebrate the feast day of  the archangels, Sts. Raphael, Michael and Gabriel.  The Gospel, John 1: 47-51,  recalls Nathanael’s call to follow Jesus. As Nathanial approaches Jesus, the Lord says of him: “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.”  If I approach Jesus, what might Jesus say of me? Am I as single-hearted, as pure of heart as Nathanial was?  Would Jesus say: “Here is a true disciple of My Father?”

Nathanial is taken aback that Jesus knew Him that well? “How do you know me,” He asked Jesus. And Jesus responds: “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”  Yes, Jesus sees us under “the fig trees” of our lives, as well. He knows us through and through just as He knew Nathanial. This Gospel story ends with the Lord reminding  Nathanial that he will see greater things than he’s already seen, that is, he will see  the “heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” 

Was it Nathaniel’s lack of duplicity that gave him the clarity to eventually  “see the heaven opened and angels of God ascending and descending”?  A friend of mine, once told me that, in a very dense fog, she saw an angel  pushing the fog aside so she could see to drive. When she was in an emergency room, unable to breathe because of severe asthmatic attacks, she saw an angel sitting beside her keeping her calm. Was it that she, too, was so steadfast in her faith, so focused on the Lord and the things of God, on doing His will above all, that prepared her for such encounters?

What drives me? To what do I tenaciously cling?

The Wisdom of Solomon

In today's first reading, 1 Kings 10: 1-10, the queen of Sheba comes to visit Solomon to test his wisdom. Is he truly as wise as others have said he is, she is wondering. To her astonishment, she discovers a wisdom greater than she has ever encountered in the past and more profound than the reports she has heard. Solomon, as a young man, a boy, perhaps, when entrusted with the throne, asked the Lord for wisdom. "O Lord, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David, but I am a mere youth.... Give me, your sevant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong"(See 1 Kings 3: 4-13). Note Solomon's humility, his recognition of being God's servant and his request for wisdom. Do I realize that I, too, am God's servant and do I recognize the importance of asking the Lord to give me a wise heart? Frequently, in the Gospels, Jesus takes his apostles aside to teach them wisdom. For instance, in today's Gospel, Mark 7: 14-23, he teaches them that what enters a person's body is not what makes one unclean but what comes out of one's mouth defiles: envy, jealousy, greed, unkindness--abusive, disrespectful, demeaning, murderous, adulterous, deceitful, arrogant words--are what make me unclean in the sight of God and my companions on the journey of faith. I pray, Lord, for this wisdom--the wisdom You taught your apostle and which you also teach me. May I wisely take time each day to allow You to take me aside and explain the Scriptures so that my heart becomes one with Yours.