John 1:45-51 Under The Fig Tree

John 1:45-51  Under The Fig Tree

(Click here for readings)

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”  But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth? ...Jesus saw Nathanael and said to him, “Here is a true child of Israel...Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”  Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” 

Putting things together is an important part of being a Christian.  Nathanael knew the scriptures well.  He was able to piece two important oracles together:  the fig tree and Nazareth.  The fact that he was “called” while sitting underneath a fig tree recalls how neighbors will “invite” one another under their “fig tree” in the messianic age (Zech 3:8).  And the fact that “branch” that will sprout from David is a term linked to the word Nazareth. 

When two truths join together, amazing things happen.

This morning I was driving out to Sky Ranch to celebrate Mass for the Senior girls at Ursuline Academy.   As I was heading down Walnut Hill, I got pulled over by the police.  To my “amazement”, I got pulled over because I was going a bit faster than the speed limit.  As soon as I pulled away, I kept asking myself over and over again, “Why do I do this to myself?  Why am I so stupid?  Why do I keep on agreeing to celebrate Masses that are so far away?” [Sky Ranch is about an hour-and-a-half from St. Monica.  It’s a long drive for one mass].  But in all honesty, I wasn’t asking the right questions.  Or better yet, I wasn’t allowing myself to put the right “two and two” together.  The problem was not with me being generous.  The problem was with me being devilish!   Of course I would love to be able to convince myself that generosity and sacrifices are not worth the time, the expense or the effort.  But the reality is that one can be generous and reckless at the same time.   

Either/Or or Also/And:  What makes Christianity so remarkable is its balanced approach to just about everything.   Take holiness and sinfulness as an example.  Most of our secular foes think that there is a great divide between the life of a saint and a sinner.  If there is, it isn’t our fault; it’s there’s. Most sinners would love to call themselves saints.  But it is the saint who is the first to call himself a sinner.  Christians would do well in reminding those who love to judge us that, in order to be a saint, the saint must first declare himself a sinner.   The question of holiness and sinfulness is not a question of either/or, but rather also/and.

Or take, for example, the atheist, who cherishes the use of his intellect to insult, on the grounds of reason alone, every single believer.  For him, it’s a simple question of either/or:  either you use your reason to liberate you, or you keep the faith that enslaves you.  But for the Christian it isn’t a matter of “either this or that”; it’s a matter of “both this and that”.  The Christian does not need to separate faith from reason; in fact, he believes in faith and reason; he believes that faith extends the arms of reason. 

Now every Christian knows that he has a touch of atheism in him.  After all, if he did not doubt, then he could not have faith.  Faith, by definition, requires a reasonable amount of doubt.   Of course the atheist will never admit he doubts himself.  He has too much confidence in himself.  On the other hand, the Christian should feel no shame in his weaknesses and doubts.  Humility is an essential ingredient to being a better Christian.  Paradoxically, if he did not doubt in God, he would turn himself into god...or an atheist (the two are not so far apart as you would think).

We have been taught to believe that confident people do not doubt themselves.  Nonsense!  This is like saying “confident people do not surprise themselves”.  Only those who watched the Olympics know what I am talking about.  The reality is quite obvious: confidence and doubts go hand-in-hand.  We all doubt ourselves once in a while.  Thank God!  If you didn’t have doubts in yourself, then you could never surprise yourself.  And you would take away one of the greatest joys in life.

Recently, two strong-willed women died.  Both sought to protect women’s rights.  Helen Gurley Brown, a writer, was a lifelong warrior for the Pro-Choice cause.  Nellie Gray, a lawyer, was a warrior for the Pro-life movement.  These women, who died within days of each other, were worlds apart in their views of women’s rights.   We often think of the Pro-Choice cause as synonymous with women’s rights and the Pro-life movement as synonymous as children’s rights.  This is not correct.  It is a deliberate tactic of the Pro-Choice cause when speaking incorrectly of the Pro-Life movement.    The real difference is that Brown believed you could separate the two (baby and mother).  Gray believed you could not. 

When our foes speak against us, they always use the tactic of divide and conquer.  It’s always an either/or for them.  But the Christian view of humanity is the most humane view of all.  It does not allow for anything less than also/and.  The pro-choice cause would like to consider themselves the movement for women’s rights (at the exclusion and expense of the child).   The Pro-Life movement is not a baby’s rights movement (at the exclusion and expense of the mother).  Rather, it is a movement that insists on the rights of mom and child.  This is who we are.  This is what we have always believed in.  That all life is sacred is the most humane and Christian way to respect all life.

We have more in common than in what separates us.