It takes a full length of the Gospel in Mark, Matthew, and Luke to gradually reveal that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. On the other hand, John immediately jumps into this revelation at the beginning of his gospel.
“Look, there is the Lamb of God,” John the Baptist said to his two disciples, pointing to Jesus.
The two disciples immediately followed Jesus.
“What are you looking for,” Jesus asked them. “Rabbi (which translated means ‘Teacher’), where are you staying?” He said to them, "Come and See.” Then they came and saw where he was staying.
One of them, Andrew, went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated, Peter).
The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and there he found Philip and asked him to follow him too. Having known Andrew and Simon, who were from the same city he lived, Philip must have received assurance from them about Jesus’ identity. So he came to find Nathaniel to tell him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
Nathaniel said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip responded, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him, he said, “Here is the true Israelite with no deceit!” Impressed by Jesus’ attention to him, Nathaniel responded, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel.”
Jesus replied, “You will see greater things than these. Amen, amen I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Interestingly, we see the same pattern and gradual revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, in the Samaritan Woman’s story in John’s Gospel.
Indeed, writing a theological Gospel, John testifies and confesses at the beginning of his writing that Jesus is the Son of God, the Anointed One!
We can draw a strong message from this literal analysis of this gospel. Jesus, our Savior, needs to be proclaimed immediately and urgently in our world and nation today.
There is no sole form of government, no political party, and no charismatic figure that can entirely change our nation and resolve its crises, except the person of Jesus. He is the one that could save us from despair, conflicts, violence, and deep divisions. Our faith in him and the Law of Love he embodies are what would bring peace and healing to our land!
Unfortunately, people profess and confess faith in Jesus, but their actions do not reveal His true Spirit. We can attest to this assertion after witnessing and discerning the fruits of their efforts. They do not show and bring genuine love, mercy, peace, and justice.
Patriotism full of hatred and bigotry is not from the Gospel of Jesus. Violent protests, riots, and terrorism are not fruits of the Holy Spirit. Only a “Servant's Heart” can bring hope and restoration to our nation, as the former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzennegger, shared in a video message last week.
We all have to pray for our nation and the world. The pandemic is horrific enough to bring us to our knees to ask for God's intervention. We'll have to multiply our efforts to pray to God to save our nation and government from destruction.
Jesus, our Savior, heal our land!
Your loving pastor,
Fr. Rodel "Odey" Balagtas