Gospel (Jn 1,43-51) - At that time, Jesus had decided to leave for Galilee; he met Philip and said to him: "Follow me". Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip met Nathanael and said to him: "We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus, son of Joseph of Nazareth." Nathanael exclaimed; «Can anything good ever come from Nazareth?». Philip answered him: "Come and see." Meanwhile, Jesus, seeing Nathanael coming towards him, said of him: "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no falsehood." Nathanael asked him: "How do you know me?". Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you when you were under the fig tree." Nathanael replied to him: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel!". Jesus answered him: «Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you think? You will see greater things than these! Then he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man.”

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus came to give everyone a life full of meaning. But not in the abstract: life full of meaning is that which involves the "I" in the "we" of humanity. Obviously this perspective also requires struggle and sacrifices, but within the broader horizon of the human family which is God's dream for the world. These first pages of the Gospel already show it. The story of that brotherhood that Jesus gathered around himself and which still continues today throughout the world begins with those fishermen. After the meeting with Andrew, John and Peter, it is the turn of Philip of Bethsaida ("house of the fish"), therefore a fellow citizen of Andrew and Simon. Jesus also says to him: "Follow me!". And so it happens. In turn, Philip tells Nathanael (which means "God gave") the beauty of the encounter: "We have found the Messiah". Nathanael, who is among those who listen to the Scriptures, however replies with skepticism: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?". Only in a personal encounter does Jesus read his heart in depth. And he gets involved. Jesus promises him that he will see things far greater than what he has just seen. It is Jesus' ambition for that small group of disciples. For this reason, later on, he will tell Peter and all the disciples who follow him that they will receive a hundred times more than what they left behind.