We all have our blinders and prejudices. The first disciples were no exception. So, when Philip told Nathanael that Jesus from Nazareth was the one foretold in the Scripture, Nathanael found this claim hard to believe: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” In response Philip gives him the simple invitation that Jesus gives to all of us: “Come and see.” We are invited to come and see what God has done in Jesus and what God is doing in our daily life. Like Nathanael, our blindness and prejudices can keep us from recognizing that God is at work in our world and in our daily life.
God works not only through great and earth-shattering experiences but also through gentle breezes. Like the first disciples we are on a spiritual journey as we walk along with Jesus. The journey begins when we accept Jesus’ invitation to come and see Him. Pope Francis has also extended this invitation to us:
“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord” (“The Joy of the Gospel”, #3).
We encounter Jesus each day when we tell Jesus what is happening in our life, the good and the bad. We encounter Jesus when we tell Him it is hard to see Him at work in our life. Encountering Jesus means not only that we challenge and question Jesus but that we also listen carefully and try to see what God is doing in our life. Some time we may not see or hear anything but as Pope Francis reminds us “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord.” Today let us take a moment to encounter Jesus, to come and see God.