Daily Gospel Reflection for August 24, 2020

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: John 1:45-51

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Immediately after Philip answered the call to follow Jesus, he came upon his friend, Nathanael, resting lazily in the shade of a fig tree. I can imagine him sitting there, a personable young man, not yet sure what to do with his life, struggling to figure out his place in Jewish society with an occupation his parents will approve of. We don’t know what he yearned for, but he certainly had honest skepticism down to a science.

But God, the Hound of Heaven, liked what He saw in Nathanael, and called to him through the words of Philip (paraphrased), “Nathanael! We have found the one, the Messiah whom Moses and the prophets spoke of. He’s the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”

Nathanael gave his sarcastic retort, but Philip wasn’t giving up that easily. “Come and see!” Philip replied, with an eagerness that Nathanael couldn’t ignore. What Philip did in the way of evangelization was awesome, heeding the urging in his heart to tell his friend about Jesus, and then dragging him along to meet Jesus in person! This is what we are all called to do. First of all, we must know Jesus, and then, we are called to bring others into Christ’s presence. Our love of Christ and enthusiasm about the faith, combined with a joyful countenance and Christian charity, is often enough to cause curiosity and inquiry from the people we encounter. “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” (Lk 10:2)

Things turned out well for Nathanael. He saw for himself, heard the words of Jesus, and believed. All because of a sincere “come and see.”

Things turned out well for Nathanael. He saw for himself, heard the words of Jesus, and believed. All because of a sincere “come and see.” #dailygospel

Ponder:

Do I take seriously the life-saving responsibility of evangelization? When opportunities arise to speak of Jesus and my Catholic faith, do I take advantage of them?