Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 5, 2019 - Jan. 5
[1 John 3:11-21 and John 1:43-51]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?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." [John]
JANUARY 5 ST, JOHN NEUMANN, cssr
It can be frustrating to encounter the kind of prejudice that springs from urban minds toward those from smaller communities. One may hear, "Oh, he/she is from some podunk hicktown." Nathanael simply reflected the general prejudice that many Jews of Jesus' time had toward Galileans. This could have religious implications as can be seen in John 7:52, when Nicodemus (gradually coming into the light after his encounter with Jesus in John 3:1-21) tries to defend Jesus against his (Nicodemus') fellow Pharisees. They retort that "No prophet has ever come from Galilee!" {Actually Jonah did!] Galilee had a greater mixture of non-Jewish, Greek-speaking, people living in the area. This made Galileans suspect in the eyes of the Pharisees. We can recall also the the accusation in the High Priests' courtyard in Matthew 26:73: "Surely you are a Galilean for even your speech betrays you!" Apparently Galileans had a distinct accent!
This gospel passage today can challenge us to look deeply into ourselves for any kind of prejudice that can block our conversion in Christ. Does a person's hometown or accent or clothing or ethnic character or religious belief or sexual orientation, etc. matter to us? Why? Prejudice can be one of the most difficult faults to root out, which suggests that serious effort is called for. Violent prejudice against Native Americans, Jews or Muslims or Catholics or Mormons or any people of color is a nasty fact about our American culture and history. We can pray that like Nathanael, we can overcome such prejudice and be true followers of Jesus Christ. AMEN