What happened under the fig tree? We will never know this side of heaven. “The Chosen”
series offers one interpretation of events, and our prayer and imagination can come up with
many others. The point is, Jesus saw him.
What does it mean to be seen by Jesus? It could be a feeling of being caught in an act of
doing something bad, or a moment of great intimacy. To be seen by someone is quite
different than being looked at or just observed. This being seen must have been an
experience of friendship and of divinity. Nathaniel knows instantly that Jesus must be the
Son of God from that simple moment. As well, the psalm proclaims, “Your friends make
known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.” That is what Nathaniel did. He
proclaimed with his words and with his life the splendor of Jesus and the Kingdom He had
come to establish.
How to be Seen
How can we let ourselves be seen by Jesus today? The simplest way is sitting before the
Blessed Sacrament, especially in adoration. Cardinal Pierre shared these moving words at
the Eucharistic Congress: “Adoration is essential to our relationship with Christ — but it is
important that we treat it as that: a relationship. If, in the act of Eucharistic adoration, we
were to look at the Sacrament merely as an “object” to be admired, then we would be
remaining, as it were, “on the outside.” To adore Christ is to relate to Him. Pope Benedict
explained: “The Latin word for adoration is ad-oratio — mouth to mouth contact, a kiss, an
embrace, and hence, ultimately love. Submission becomes union because He to whom we
submit is Love. In this way submission acquires a meaning, because it does not impose
anything on us from the outside but liberates us deep within.”
Let us let Jesus look at us and be transformed into His friends and apostles.
[Readings: Rv 21:9b-14; Jn 1:45-51]
This reflection is by Nicole Buchholz and Kathleen Almon
