Sixth Sunday of Winter

“Nathaniel Under the Fig Tree” by James Tissot, 1886-1894.

Iohannes was on the banks of the Jordan, with two of his disciples, seeing Ieshu walking, said: here is the divine Agnus. Having heard him say this, the two disciples followed Ieshu. Ieshu turned around and saw them following him, and said to them: What do you want? They said to him: Master, where are you staying? He said, Come and see. So they went and saw where he was staying, and stayed with him the rest of the day. Now it was about four o'clock in the afternoon. One of the two disciples who had heard what Iohannes had said and followed Ieshu was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first met Simon and told him we have found the Christos. And he brought him to Ieshu. Ieshu looked at him and said, You are Simon son of Iona; you shall be called Peter. The next day, wanting to go to Galilee. Ieshu met Philip and said to him: follow me. This Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. He met Nathanael and said to him: We have found the one spoken of in the book and foretold by the prophets, Ieshu, son of Joseph of Nazareth. Nathanael said to him : Come now, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said : Come and see. Ieshu looked at Nathanael and said to him: Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no trickery. How do you know me ? said Nathanael. Before Philip called you, Ieshu replied, I saw you under a fig tree. Master, said Nathanaël, you really are the Christos. Ieshu replied: you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree, you will see even greater things. You will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending towards the Son of Man.