“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”

john 1:47

John 1:47-51

Reflection

Jesus sees the Apostle Nathanael walking towards him and says that he is a true child of Israel; there is no duplicity in him. Nathanael asks how Jesus knows him, and Jesus replies that he saw him under the fig tree. Nathanael declares that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus says that Nathanael will see greater things than that; he will see heaven opened and the angels of God.

Jesus sees no duplicity in Nathanael. Can he say the same of us? Hopefully most of us consider ourselves honest and upright people, but there are certainly times when all of us lie and are deceitful. We can lie not only to others, but to ourselves as well. Especially in our spiritual lives, we might convince ourselves we will start a new prayer habit or develop our relationship with Jesus, only to never begin.

Jesus knows us most intimately – we can never truly lie to him because he knows we are lying if we do. Christ encourages us to be honest with others and ourselves, for that is the best way to live. Ask Jesus for the strength and grace to live honestly, with no duplicity in your heart.

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Saint of the Day

Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. Revelation 12:7-8