Several lessons can be drawn from today's Gospel account of Nathaniel's encounter with Jesus. First, Nathaniel was said to be a skeptic yet seeker of the truth and Philip had made the effort to bring him to Jesus. Do we, like Philip, make conscientious attempts to bring others to Christ, even those whom we regard to be unlikely to have a change of heart? This encounter, which led Nathaniel to his personal conversion, calls to mind that God's ways are often beyond our human reckoning so we should be willing to be humble conduits of God's grace to others, for He wishes to make Himself known to all. Second, the manner in which God reveals Himself to each person may differ. In this instance, Nathaniel was immediately convinced of Jesus' divinity when He made the impossible possible in having "seen" and "known" Nathaniel even though they had never met until then. This calls to mind that, in different ways and at different times, Jesus reveals Himself to us according to our lives' circumstances so we must be ever ready and vigilant to receive Him and His Word. This will better prepare us to witness even greater miracles and revelations installed for us, like what our Lord promised Nathaniel.

Finally, on this feast of the Archangels, we are reminded that the unseen might often be more real and powerful than what is seen. Our Lord, working through His angels, can make things happen in ways that we may not see.