A reading from the first letter of saint John (3:11-21)
This is the message
which you heard from the beginning,
that we must love one another,
not be like Cain, who was from the Evil One
and murdered his brother.
And why did he murder his brother?
Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s righteous.
Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters,
if the world hates you.
We know that we have passed over from death to life
because we love our brothers and sisters.
Whoever does not love, remains in death.
Anyone who hates brother or sister is a murderer,
and you know that no murderers
have eternal life abiding in them.
By this we know love,
that he laid down his life for our sake,
and we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
If anyone is well off in worldly possessions
and sees a brother or sister in need
but closes the heart to them,
how can God’s love abide in such a person?
Children,
let us love not in word and speech,
but in action and truth.
By this we shall know that we belong to the truth
and it will reassure us in his presence,
even if our own hearts condemn us,
that God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.
My dear friends,
if our own hearts do not condemn us,
we can be fearless before God.
Love (agapan) of brothers and sisters is now described as the ‘message’ (aggelia) heard from the beginning of the preaching. It is not a later understanding but central to the gospel. Cain who is ‘from the evil one’ naturally murders the one who does what is right. Love of brothers and sisters leads to the ‘world’ (kosmos) hating us, but it is a clear sign that ‘we have passed over from death to life’. The one who does not love ‘remains’ (menein) in death, and becomes a murderer. We have come to know love (agape) since he (ekeinos) laid down his life for us, and we should do the same. To cling to possessions is another sign of a lack of love. We should ‘belong to the truth (aletheia)’, which will give us ‘reassurance’ (parresia) as we stand before God.
Psalm 100 (99) The psalm invites ‘all the earth’ to cry out with joy (simhah).
A reading from the holy gospel according to John (1:43-51)
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee; he found Philip and said, ‘Follow me.’ Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘From Nazareth? Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Philip replied, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him he said of him, ‘Here, truly, is an Israelite in whom there is no deception.’ Nathanael asked, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Before Philip spoke to you, I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are Son of God, you are King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘Do you believe because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.’ Then he said to him, ‘Amen, Amen I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.’
The location of the call of Philip is not clear, since Jesus ‘has decided to leave for Galilee’, and John the Baptist is mentioned no longer. As Andrew had brought Peter, so now Philip, also from Bethsaida, who has been called by Jesus with the words ‘follow me’, brings Nathanael into the circle of the followers. Nathanael will be mentioned again at the end of the gospel (21:2), where he is identified as coming from Cana. He has traditionally been identified with Bartholomew. While he is sceptical of a prophet arising from Nazareth, Nathanael becomes enthusiastic and bestows new titles on Jesus: he is ‘the Son of God’ and ‘the king of Israel’. The final words of Jesus concern a larger group: ‘you (plural) will see heaven opened’.
Are titles important to Jesus?
A vision of the life beyond is a gift to all.