[stephenkhoo]

AFFIRMING THE GOODNESS IN OTHERS AS THE WAY TO FREE THEM FOR FAITH

SCRIPTURE READINGS:  REV(APOC) 21:9-14; JN 1:45-51Today we celebrate the feast of St Bartholomew, who is also called Nathaniel in the gospel of St John.  In celebrating his feast, we are called to reflect on how Nathaniel grew in faith in Jesus as the Son of God, the King of Israel.  But before we reflect on his process of growth in faith, we must first clarify from the outset what we mean by faith.  In general, faith is openness to life, to others and to God.  A person, regardless of his religious inclination, can be said to have faith if he or she is positively open to the future and to life itself.  Conversely, we say a person has no faith if he or she loses trust in the meaningfulness and reality of life; or when one cannot see the goodness in others or within oneself.  Such an attitude necessarily also leads to a denial of hope and therefore of God.  As such, we conclude that faith in life, in self and in others presupposes faith in God, or that it has at least intrinsic bearing on our faith in God.With this framework, we can now proceed to examine the faith journey of Nathaniel.  What we see in him initially is that he was a skeptical man.  He was rather doubtful of Jesus when Philip invited him to “Come and see.” He was cynical about Philip’s claim that he had found the One whom Moses and the prophets had written about.  His response was: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Yes, Nathaniel was prejudiced against Jesus. This prejudice is reflected in his remark that nothing good could come from an insignificant and humble village.  As such, he was disinterested to see Jesus.But the real root of Nathaniel’s skepticism lies in the fact that he was more skeptical of himself and of life.  He must have been a bitter man. For the truth is that if people are cynical and skeptical, it is because they cannot see the good in anyone or anything anymore.  Those who have been hurt in life as a result of broken relationships or setbacks in their fortunes become very negative towards life.   If we have no faith in God, in life or in others, it is because we have lost faith even in ourselves.  It is our disillusionment with life, with others, that causes us to lose faith in God.  The rejection of God is simply a scapegoat or a symbol of our own despair over life.  Nathaniel could not see any goodness in Jesus until he first learnt to see goodness in himself.In contrast, we are told that Jesus saw Nathaniel under the fig tree.  There is a play on the word “see” in today’s gospel.  Not only was Jesus able to see Nathaniel as a person and therefore important to Him, but He even greeted Nathaniel with the affirmation that he “is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit” and that He saw him under the fig tree.  In making these remarks, Jesus wanted Nathaniel to know first and foremost that he was important to Him; that he was unique and special.  And in affirming that he is incapable of deceit, Jesus did not mean to flatter him.  Rather, Jesus was being extremely truthful to him.  He wanted to bring the best out of him.  How?In describing Nathaniel as a man who is incapable of deceit, Jesus was helping Nathaniel to see his true self.  Firstly, if Nathaniel was a man incapable of deceit, it was because Nathaniel must have gone through much in life, so much so that he had become too skeptical to bother to hide his sentiments.  Likewise, his skepticism had also caused him to be closed to influence by others.  Such a person cannot be easily deceived.  Secondly, in declaring that Nathaniel was such a person, Jesus gave a boost to Nathaniel’s ego. This incapability of being deceived can certainly be understood as a positive asset. That is to say, he is an honest person, without any pretext whatsoever.  This is illustrated in his response to the invitation when he said, “Can anything good come from that place?”  Nathaniel did not mince his words, for he knew the poor reputation of people who came from Nazareth.  By praising Nathaniel for his honesty and integrity, Jesus helped Nathaniel regain his self-esteem and self-confidence. But even in His candidness, Jesus was never negative. Jesus could see that Nathaniel’s skepticism was a plus factor because it showed that Nathaniel was also sincere in his search for God and for life.   He would not just follow the crowd because others were doing so.The outcome of Jesus’ affirmation of Nathaniel was the recovery of his faith in life, others and in God.  In coming to accept his goodness, he could even recognize Jesus as a Rabbi, the Son of God and the King of Israel.   But Jesus went on further to say that if Nathaniel’s recognition of Him happened simply because Jesus affirmed him, that He had seen him under the fig tree, that is, that He had taken notice of him and his goodness, then what more if He were to affirm the many other qualities which were found in him?  Hence, if Nathaniel were to see his true identity, with all his goodness, then according to Jesus, Nathaniel would “see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.”  Yes, if only Nathaniel were able to see his true goodness and dignity, then he would be able to see God more clearly as well; for the more one comes to know oneself, the more one comes to know God also. The implication for us in helping people to grow in faith is that we must take the cue from Jesus.  We must help those who are skeptical of God or of life by helping them to see the goodness in themselves.  Our initial task therefore is to help them to remove their blindness with regard to themselves and their goodness.  This is an important preliminary stage.  We must not be too quick to counsel such a person on what is right or wrong, or attempt to prove our faith about God and the beauty and meaning of life, in spite all the sufferings and sins of humanity.  So to gain someone’s trust, we must begin by noticing them, or by recognizing their uniqueness and their qualities.  Instead of reacting negatively towards them, we must see what is positive in them and affirm them in their goodness.  To be able to see what the person could be tomorrow, rather than just what he or she is today, was what Jesus did.  Even though Nathaniel was negative towards Him, Jesus remained very positive towards him. He saw in Nathaniel his potential to do greater things, just as He did with St Peter and St Paul.  Both of them were also great sinners but Jesus was able to see the saint in them.  Neither did He condemn Nathaniel for his skepticism.  Instead, He helped him to see the positive aspect of it. Jesus understood Nathaniel’s anger and fears. He felt with him in His compassion, and because Jesus accepted him, Nathaniel was able to accept himself.So, when we encounter faithless and hopeless people, we must try to overcome their hostility with love and patience, not with hatred or resentment.  The latter approach would only reinforce their bitterness with life and with themselves, and most of all, confirm their negative outlook towards people and life.  Instead, we need to affirm them so that they can open their eyes once again to the love of God in them and for them.  Only then can they see the goodness of God in others, in life and find Him in all things.  And of course, when they find God in all things, in all events of life, then they will not only see heaven as Jesus promised Nathaniel, but that they are already in heaven, because they will see everyone as the Son of Man and as the angels of God in their lives, angels sent by God, ascending and descending to them in manifold ways.Like Nathaniel, we are all so wounded by our sins and the sufferings of life, either because of our foolishness or due to the selfishness of men.  Let us always be that messenger of Christ to give hope to people, bringing light instead of darkness, love instead of hatred, hope instead of despair.  So long as there is hope, people will live on.  Will you be like Jesus today, seeing only the goodness in every person, and even in “bad” and nasty people, to see the love and goodness hidden beneath their fears and arrogance?  Truly, there is no better way to help people change their lives than to affirm their sincerely when we see goodness and virtues in them, even it if is just only in its embryonic stage.  But that seed of love will one day blossom if watered generously by love and encouragement to that of a magnificent tree, giving shelter and refuge to all.

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