“There is one sentence in today’s Gospel that I find very beautiful. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, He said: “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him.”
Imagine Jesus saying that about you. Not: “Here comes a very successful person.” Not: “Here comes a very important person.” Not even: “Here comes a very religious person.”
Jesus simply says: “There is no duplicity in him.” In other words: This man is genuine. What you see is what you get.
And perhaps this is one of the greatest challenges of Christian life today: Be true. Be genuine. Be the same person before God and before others.
We have become very good at managing our image
Today, it is easy to create an image of ourselves. Before posting a picture, we choose the best one. Sometimes we take ten pictures just to post one! We adjust the lighting. We choose the angle. We apply a filter. Nothing wrong with that.
The problem begins when we start putting filters not only on our pictures, but also on our lives. We want people to see only what is beautiful. We can appear very prayerful in church but be difficult to live with at home. We can post Bible verses on Facebook but use the same Facebook account to insult people. We can speak beautifully about kindness but treat our workers, employees, or family members badly.
We can fool people. But we cannot put a filter on our heart before God. He sees us as we really are.
That is why Jesus’ words about Nathanael are so powerful: “There is no duplicity in him.”
Our faith must make us genuine
Christianity is not about looking holy. It is about becoming holy. There is a big difference.
We do not come to Mass so that people will think we are good. We come to Mass so that God can slowly make us good. We pray not to create a religious image. We pray so that our hearts may become more loving, forgiving, patient, and truthful.
And this should be our examination of conscience:
Am I the same person in church and at home?
Am I the same person in public and in private?
Am I the same person online and offline?
If our children hear us praying beautifully in church but hear us constantly insulting people at home, something is wrong.
If we receive Holy Communion but refuse to forgive, something is wrong.
If we talk about honesty but cheat whenever it benefits us, something is wrong.
Jesus is not asking us to be perfect overnight. He is asking us to be sincere.
There is a difference between being a sinner and being a hypocrite. A sinner can say, “Lord, I have failed. Please help me.” A hypocrite pretends there is nothing to change.
God can work beautifully with an imperfect but honest heart.
Honesty Is more valuable
There is a story about a little boy who accidentally broke an expensive vase at home.
When his father arrived, the boy was frightened. He could have blamed somebody else. He could have hidden the broken pieces.
Instead, he approached his father and said: “Papa, I broke it. I’m sorry.”
The father looked at the broken vase and then at his son.
He said, “The vase was valuable. But your honesty is more valuable to me than the vase.”
Final Words
My dear brothers and sisters, we all have broken pieces in our lives. We have mistakes. Weaknesses. Sins. Things we wish we had done differently. God already sees them. We do not have to pretend before Him.
What God desires is a heart that can stand before Him and say: “Lord, this is who I am. You know my goodness. You know my weakness. You know my sins. But I do not want to hide from You. Please make me better.”
On this feast of St. Bartholomew, may we desire the beautiful compliment Jesus gave Nathanael.
At the end of our lives, may Christ look at each one of us and say: “Here is my disciple. Not perfect, but sincere. Not without weaknesses, but without duplicity. A person whose heart was true.”
St. Bartholomew, pray for us. Amen.”