Nathanael, true and without guile

I'm very excited at the new vigor that I sense among Catholics, both cradle Catholics and those who have recently "crossed the Tiber" to rediscover Jesus and the early Church, through both Bible reading and reading the works of the Early Church Fathers. Not only are people more fully discovering Jesus Christ, they are also more fully knowing their own selves.

Nowadays so many people work on changing their images, or adopting other personalities or traits, thinking that they need to constantly "re-invent" themselves. Sometimes when I encounter a person I knew I feel I should ask them, "And, who are you now?" instead of "How are you?!" I'd like to remind people that they are their own unique selves, and there's a great dialogue in St. John that illustrates this.

John 1:47-49. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, a true Israelite in whom there is no guile! Nathanael said to him, "Whence knowest thou me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." Nathanael answered him and said, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art King of Israel."

Now, while many study the calling of Nathanael as a lesson in the all knowing nature of Jesus (his far sight) and in Nathanael's faith (his recognition of Jesus as the Son of God, King of Israel) there is also another insight that can be gleaned, that is almost too simple to see. Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say, "I saw you studying the Torah and you sure are smart, so be an Apostle," "I saw you shouting everyone else down in a debate so I knew you'd have the right stuff to be an Apostle," "I saw you give a lot of alms so you have the charity to be an Apostle," or "I saw you are a great conversationalist, and so you'll have the gift of gab to be an Apostle!"

Jesus saw Nathanael simply sitting under a tree. Jesus of course was also able to see into Nathanael's heart. Jesus was able to see that Nathanael was "true" and with "no guile," in other words, comfortable in his own skin, his own authentic self, and not striking a pose in order to be someone that he is not. So when you read this part of the Gospel of St. John, remember that real quality is not in constant re-inventing and being a poseur, but in being one's own true self, without guile. Nathanael did not even know he was at an interview to be an Apostle!