Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Even people in the same room with Jesus did not always see Him as the Light of the world. In contrast, Nathanael met Jesus for the first time, realized that the Lord already knew him, and recognized Him as the Son of God. After giving the Twelve authority to preach and heal, Jesus sent them as missionaries with the instruction to take nothing with them except the clothes and sandals they wore. That took faith! Rumors spread as people speculated that John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the other prophets had come back to life as Jesus. Herod had ordered John the Baptist beheaded and wanted to see Jesus for himself. If we sometimes wish that God didn’t know everything about us, what kind of light does that shine on our faith?