"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."
To account for Nathanael's response we must say more than that Jesus simply happened to observe him in a human way, and thought that he seemed like a sincere individual based on appearance. Rather, his assertion, that there was in Nathanael no duplicity, was neither flattery nor assumption. Jesus could see both the surface and the depths of Nathanael's spirit. The fact that he observed him under the fig tree was not simply meant to describe the scene. Rather, Nathanael desired to be part of the messianic age in which "every man under his vine and under his fig tree" (see Micah 4:4). Jesus was not merely saying he happened to see Nathanael under any fig whatever. He was saying he saw Nathanael in the scene of that messianic age, in which Nathanael would have a place. This appears to have been the deepest desire of Nathanael's heart. There was no duplicity between his external action and his internal desire. But by saying he saw it in the way Jesus did, he meant in a way that was a divine and omniscient observation of the future. He went beyond the mere acknowledge of the desire to the confirmation that it would come to pass. It was this combination of insight and assurance that led Nathanael to confess that Jesus was not only a teacher but the Son of God and the King of Israel. Who else but the person described by those words could know what Jesus knew or promise what he had promised?
And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Jesus promised Nathanael more than he dared to hope or ask. The messianic age was going to be something far greater than he imagined, ushered in by a messiah who was more than he had dared to desire. The messiah would not merely restore the kingdom and restore the offering of right praise to Israel. He would do those things. But he would do so, not merely at a human scale, but by bridging the gap between heaven and earth, just as the ladder Jacob saw in a dream foreshadowed. Jesus himself would unleash the full blessings of heaven, which would be ministered to us by angels, doing so by removing the obstacles to those barriers, and uniting the heavenly and the earthly realms in his very person. Through Jesus the angels would bring the blessings of heaven, that had heretofore only been partial and unexpected exceptions, down to earth in a regular and reliable way. Through Jesus the angels would aid his people as they sought to lift up their lives to become worthy of life in that realm of the Spirit that was at the other end of the ladder of the incarnation.
We can see from the first option for our first reading how the same myriad of heavenly hosts that surround the throne of the Father are also servants of the great Son of Man. For our purposes this morning this includes especially Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels with particularly important roles in God's plans for our salvation. Why should we bother with them, or why care about them? Why not just focus all of our limited mental resources on Jesus himself? We should pay attention to them because God himself clearly did by the prominent role he gave them in accomplishing our salvation, a project with which he clearly didn't actually need any help.
Nathanael answered him,
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
To account for Nathanael's response we must say more than that Jesus simply happened to observe him in a human way, and thought that he seemed like a sincere individual based on appearance. Rather, his assertion, that there was in Nathanael no duplicity, was neither flattery nor assumption. Jesus could see both the surface and the depths of Nathanael's spirit. The fact that he observed him under the fig tree was not simply meant to describe the scene. Rather, Nathanael desired to be part of the messianic age in which "every man under his vine and under his fig tree" (see Micah 4:4). Jesus was not merely saying he happened to see Nathanael under any fig whatever. He was saying he saw Nathanael in the scene of that messianic age, in which Nathanael would have a place. This appears to have been the deepest desire of Nathanael's heart. There was no duplicity between his external action and his internal desire. But by saying he saw it in the way Jesus did, he meant in a way that was a divine and omniscient observation of the future. He went beyond the mere acknowledge of the desire to the confirmation that it would come to pass. It was this combination of insight and assurance that led Nathanael to confess that Jesus was not only a teacher but the Son of God and the King of Israel. Who else but the person described by those words could know what Jesus knew or promise what he had promised?
And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Jesus promised Nathanael more than he dared to hope or ask. The messianic age was going to be something far greater than he imagined, ushered in by a messiah who was more than he had dared to desire. The messiah would not merely restore the kingdom and restore the offering of right praise to Israel. He would do those things. But he would do so, not merely at a human scale, but by bridging the gap between heaven and earth, just as the ladder Jacob saw in a dream foreshadowed. Jesus himself would unleash the full blessings of heaven, which would be ministered to us by angels, doing so by removing the obstacles to those barriers, and uniting the heavenly and the earthly realms in his very person. Through Jesus the angels would bring the blessings of heaven, that had heretofore only been partial and unexpected exceptions, down to earth in a regular and reliable way. Through Jesus the angels would aid his people as they sought to lift up their lives to become worthy of life in that realm of the Spirit that was at the other end of the ladder of the incarnation.
We can see from the first option for our first reading how the same myriad of heavenly hosts that surround the throne of the Father are also servants of the great Son of Man. For our purposes this morning this includes especially Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels with particularly important roles in God's plans for our salvation. Why should we bother with them, or why care about them? Why not just focus all of our limited mental resources on Jesus himself? We should pay attention to them because God himself clearly did by the prominent role he gave them in accomplishing our salvation, a project with which he clearly didn't actually need any help.
It is not the case that the victory accomplished through Michael over the Devil and his angels is merely a past event. Rather, as God chose Michael to conquer the Devil, so too does he use each of the archangels in accomplishing his will in our own lives and in our world. Saint Michael can help us achieve our own victories over the evil one. Gabriel can help connect us to God's will and teach us how to make Jesus present in our own lives. Raphael can lead us to healing and restoration of bodily ailments, relationships, and even spiritual afflictions. It is not only the psalmist, but ourselves too, especially in the mass, where heaven meets earth, who are meant to sing our praises in "the sight of the angels".
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