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Commentary of the Gospell for the day, 24th of august of 2024
Nathanael became an apostle somewhat by chance. He was passing by and ran into his friend Philip. Of course, we also have to assume that he was looking for something in his life. That’s why Philip told him about Jesus. If Nathanael had only been worried about the harvest or the illness or the damage to the roof of his house, Philip almost certainly wouldn’t have told him about Jesus. But Philip must have known about Nathanael’s concerns and that’s why he told him about Jesus.
Nathanael is a good example of what we often are. We have concerns but we also have prejudices. Concerns can open us up to other realities. We could say that they excite our curiosity, that they open or, at least, point out doors to the new, to the unknown, where perhaps we can find answers to our concerns.
But there are also prejudices. These are in charge of exactly the opposite. Why try new paths, why cross thresholds into the unknown if we already know what we are going to find behind them? It is that question of Nathanael to Philip: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? It seems that Nathanael already had everything under control. He knew what he was looking for and, at the same time, he didn’t want to search too much because he already knew…
Luckily, curiosity got the better of him than useless prejudice. And he was encouraged to follow Philip and meet Jesus. He discovered that yes, something good could come out of Nazareth. Good and surprising. That door he opened, that threshold he crossed changed his life. If he had stayed in prejudice, in the “I already know what’s there”, he would have continued to be a child of God, but he would have missed the direct encounter with the one who is grace, the witness of God’s love for each one of us. He would have missed the opportunity of his life.
Conclusion: we must strive to overcome prejudices because God awaits us where we least expect Him. Even in Nazareth!