5 January — “Come and See”

Today stands right on the edge of Epiphany.

The Church does not yet show us the star.
She does not yet bring the Magi to the crib.

Instead, she does something wiser.

She asks us to look carefully at what happens when Christ begins to be recognised.

St John begins very plainly in the first reading:

“This is the message we have heard from the beginning:
that we should love one another.”

But John immediately makes something clear.

Love is not a feeling.
It is not intention.
It is not words alone.

He says: “We must not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.”

This matters.

Because false religion is always comfortable with ideas.
True faith always changes how we live.

John is not lowering the bar.
He is clarifying it.

Love that comes from God
takes shape in action,
in sacrifice,
in truth.

And John adds something important for anyone with a restless conscience:

“If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts.”

God does not ignore truth —
but He is not smaller than our weakness.

The Gospel gives us one of the simplest invitations in all of Scripture.

Philip meets Jesus Christ
and tells Nathanael about Him.

Nathanael is sceptical.

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip does not argue.
He does not force a conclusion.

He says: “Come and see.”

That is how the Gospel spreads.

Not through pressure,
but through encounter.

When Nathanael meets Jesus, something surprising happens.

Before Nathanael speaks,
Jesus speaks about him.

“Before Philip called you,
when you were under the fig tree,
I saw you.”

Nathanael realises something immediately:

He is known.

Not analysed.
Not judged.
Known.

This is the beginning of faith.

We do not start by understanding Christ.
We start by discovering that He already understands us.

Nathanael makes a beautiful confession:

“Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel.”

And Jesus answers gently:

“You will see greater things than these.”

Faith is never static.

Every real encounter with Christ
opens the door to more truth,
more conversion,
more light.

This is why the Church moves us toward Epiphany.

Because Christ is never revealed once and finished.
He is revealed again and again
to those willing to follow.

Epiphany is not only about Magi and gifts.

It is about recognition.

The nations will recognise Him.
The Gentiles will recognise Him.
But first, individuals must recognise Him.

Nathanael under the fig tree.
Philip on the road.
Ordinary people
encountering an extraordinary truth.

And the pattern remains the same:

Come.
See.
Remain.
Be changed.

On this day before Epiphany,
the Church invites us to prepare our hearts quietly.

Not by excitement,
but by honesty.

Do we love in deed and in truth?
Do we allow Christ to see us as we are?
Are we willing to follow where He leads?

Christ does not reveal Himself to the curious alone.
He reveals Himself to those who are willing to come and see.

May we be among them.

And may the light that will shine for the nations tomorrow
first shine clearly in us.