Week 12 of the Church year
ദനഹായ്ക്കു ശേഷം രണ്ടാം ഞായർ
Philip is sure he has found the one Moses wrote about. His friend Nathanael doubts anything good can come from Nazareth. Philip does not argue. He says, come and see.
Jesus calls Philip, who finds Nathanael and tells him about Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael is doubtful but comes. Jesus says he saw him under the fig tree, and Nathanael calls him Son of God and King of Israel.
The Sundays after Denha show Jesus being made known. All three Gospel readings today come from John 1, where one person brings the next.
Philip did not win an argument. He invited his friend to meet Jesus for himself.
ഈ ഞായറാഴ്ചയുടെ വായനകൾ
John points to Jesus: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
Andrew follows Jesus and brings his brother Simon: “We have found the Messiah.”
Rules for offerings: I am the Lord who makes you holy.
Wisdom builds her house and invites the simple to her table.
Look to the rock from which you were cut, to Abraham your father.
Be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentleness.
[NOTE: add once the reference is checked]
Philip brings Nathanael: “Come and see.” This is the Gospel of the day.
Open in five scenesIn the evening John points to the Lamb of God; in the morning Andrew brings his brother Simon. At Qurbana Philip brings Nathanael. Proverbs pictures Wisdom calling people in, and Isaiah tells them to look to the rock they were cut from.
References follow the official lectionary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Your parish may read them in a different order.
Pick a scene to see what happens in it and what is easy to miss.
The next day Jesus decides to go to Galilee. He finds Philip and says: follow me. Philip is from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.
In John, Philip is the first person Jesus goes looking for. The others came to him.
Philip finds Nathanael: we have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about, Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael asks if anything good can come from Nazareth. Philip says: come and see.
Nathanael’s home, Cana, was only a few miles from Nazareth. Neighbouring villages rarely think much of each other.
Jesus sees Nathanael coming and calls him a true Israelite with no deceit. Nathanael asks how he knows him. Jesus says he saw him under the fig tree before Philip called him.
Jacob, the father of Israel, was known for deceit (Genesis 27:35). Nathanael is an Israelite without it.
Nathanael answers: Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.
The doubter of verse 46 makes one of the fullest confessions in the whole chapter.
Jesus says he will see greater things: heaven opened and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man.
This is Jacob’s ladder (Genesis 28:12). Jesus himself is now the place where heaven and earth meet.
The verse to keep
“നഥനയേൽ അവനോടു: നസറെത്തിൽനിന്നു വല്ല നന്മയും വരുമോ എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു. ഫിലിപ്പൊസ് അവനോടു: വന്നു കാൺക എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു.”Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Philipഫിലിപ്പൊസ്
From Bethsaida, called directly by Jesus. He brings Nathanael.
“Lover of horses”
Nathanaelനഥനയേൽ
From Cana in Galilee. Often identified with the apostle Bartholomew.
“God has given”
Jesus of Nazarethനസറായനായ യേശു
Called by Philip “the son of Joseph, from Nazareth”.
“The Lord saves”
വന്നു കാൺക
Nathanael’s first reaction is the one many people have: I doubt it. Nazareth was a nowhere place, and he had grown up nearby. Philip could have argued with him. He could have listed the Scriptures, or told him what Jesus had said. Instead he says three words: come and see.
It works because Jesus already knows Nathanael. Before Philip called him, Jesus saw him under the fig tree. The invitation is not to an idea but to a person who has been paying attention all along. Nathanael’s doubts are not fought. They are simply overtaken by meeting Jesus.
Many of us have a friend or a family member who doubts. The temptation is to argue. This Gospel suggests something gentler and harder: bring them where they can see for themselves, and trust that Jesus has already seen them. Our job is the invitation. What happens next is between them and him.
കുടുംബമായി സംസാരിക്കാം
Who first brought you to Jesus or to church? What did they do that helped?
Two minutes after the audio. Everyone gets a turn, and nobody is interrupted.Invite one friend to something at church this month: a Qurbana, a youth meeting or a feast.
Lord Jesus, you saw Nathanael under the fig tree before anyone called him. See the people we love who doubt, give us the courage to say “come and see”, and open heaven to us all. Amen.
The whole year
Every Sunday of the Church year, season by season: readings, the Gospel and a question for the family.
Sunday 2 of 2 in Denha