AUGUST 24, 2019 : FEAST OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
Lectionary: 629

Reading 1RV 21:9B-14

The angel spoke to me, saying,
"Come here.
I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

Responsorial PsalmPS 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18

R.(12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

AlleluiaJN 1:49B

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJN 1:45-51

Philip found Nathanael and told him,
"We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,
and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."
But Nathanael said to him,
"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
"Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him."
Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" 
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."
Nathanael answered him,
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this."
And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

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Meditation: "Come and see"

How can we know with certainty that Jesus is truly who he claims to be - the Son of God and Savior of the world? Philip was eager to tell his friend Nathaniel (who is also known as Bartholomew in Matthew 10:3 and Luke 6:14) about his decision to be a disciple of Jesus. Philip tried to convince his friend that Jesus was the Messiah, whom Moses and the prophets had foretold would come. Nathanial was very skeptical because he didn't think it was possible for the Messiah to come from Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Nathaniel not only disliked the town of Nazareth, he despised its residents as unworthy Jews. "How could anything good come from such a place?" 

Nazareth was at the crossroads of the ancient world where people from different cultures and religions would pass through. Perhaps Nathaniel thought  its religious teachers were not orthodox enough in their understanding and interpretation of the law of Moses. Besides, how could the Messiah come from Galilee when the prophets said he would come from Bethlehem of Judea? Aren't we all a bit like Nathaniel? We are skeptical when someone tries to convince us of the truth until we can comprehend it for ourselves.

A skeptical but earnest search for God's truth
So what kind of proof did Philip offer to Nathanael? Rather than argue with his friend, Philip took the wiser strategy of inviting Nathanael  to "come and see" for himself who this Jesus claimed to be. Clever arguments rarely win people to the Gospel - but an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ can change one's life forever. When people are receptive to the word of Christ and when they see his love in action, the Lord Jesus himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit, touches their hearts and opens their minds to recognize that he truly is the Son of God who reveals the Father's love and truth to us.

When Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, Jesus did something which only God could do! He opened Nathanael's heart and his innermost thoughts and desires to God's revelation. Jesus called Nathanael a true "Israelite in whom there is no guile." God had chosen Jacob, who was given the name Israel, over his twin brother Essau, because Jacob was a man of faith, without guile or cunning like Essau (Genesis 25:27).  Nathanael, like Jacob, hungered for God and believed in God's promises. Nathanael knew the Scriptures. He had read the law and the prophets. And like Jacob he was waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises to his people Israel. Nathanael was an earnest seeker of God. He not only sought to grow in understanding of God's word, but he sought an intimate personal relationship with God as well. That is why he was willing to meet Jesus, to see if perhaps this miracle worker from Galilee might be the long-awaited Messiah and Savior.

God's word brings blessing and refreshment for those who receive it
What is the significance of Jesus' revelation of seeing Nathanael "under the fig tree"? For the people of Israel, the fig tree was a symbol of God's peace and blessing (1 Kings 4:24b-25, Micah 4:4). It provided shade from the midday sun and a cool refreshing place to retreat, pray, and reflect on God's word. Rabbis often gathered their disciples under the shade of the fig tree to teach them the wisdom and revelation of God's word in the Scriptures. The rabbis had an expression for comparing the fig tree to being nourished with God's word in Scripture, "He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit."

Jesus offers the greatest gift possible - peace and friendship with God
It is very likely that Nathanael had been thinking about God's word  while sitting  "under his fig tree" and reflecting on God's promise to send a Messiah King who would free his people from sin and oppression and usher in God's kingdom of righteousness and peace for the whole world. Perhaps Nathanael dozed off for a midday nap and dreamt of God's kingdom like Jacob had dreamt when God gave him a vision of a great ladder which united earth with heaven (see Genesis 28:12-17). Through the gift of revelation Nathanael recognized that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the everlasting "Son of God and King of Israel" (John 1:49).  The Lord Jesus offered Nathanael the greatest gift of all - the gift of friendship with God and the offer of free access to God's throne in heaven.

Jesus promises that we will dwell with the living God
What does Jesus mean when he says "you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man"? One of the most remarkable revelations recorded in the Bible is the dream of Jacob (Genesis 28:12-17). God had opened a door for Jacob that brought him and his people into a new relationship with the living God. In Jacob's dream God revealed his angelic host and showed him the very throne of heaven and promised Jacob that he and his descendants would dwell with the living God.

Jesus, the Son of God, unites earth and heaven in himself 
Jesus' response to Nathanael's new faith in accepting Jesus as the Messiah is the promise that Jesus himself will open the way for free access to the very throne of God in heaven. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to Jacob and his descendants - he is the way to the Father in heaven and the true "ladder (or stairway) which unites earth with heaven." In Jesus' incarnation, the divine Son of God taking on human flesh for our sake, we see the union of heaven and earth - God making his dwelling with us and bringing us into the heavenly reality of his kingdom through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus gives us free access to God's presence
Jesus' death on the cross, where he defeated sin and won new life for us through his resurrection, opens the way for each of us to come into a new relationship with God as his adopted sons and daughters. The Lord Jesus opens the way for each one of us to "ascend to heaven" and to bring "heaven to earth" in the daily circumstances of our lives. God's kingdom is present in those who seek him and who strive to do his will. Through the gift of faith God opens a door for each one of us to the heavenly reality of his kingdom. Do you see with the "eyes of faith" what the Lord Jesus has done for us?

"Heavenly Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, you have opened the way to heaven for each one of us. As you personally revealed yourself to your beloved patriarchs and apostles, so reveal yourself to me that I may recognize your presence with me and know the power of your kingdom at work in my life. May I always find joy and peace in your presence and never lose sight of your everlasting kingdom."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The Lord of Angels, by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD)

"Do you see how he [Jesus] leads him [Nathanael] up little by little from the earth and causes him no longer to imagine him as merely a man? For one to whom angels minister and on whom angels ascend and descend, how could he be a man? This is why he said, 'You shall see greater things than these.' And to prove this, he introduces the ministry of angels. What he means is something like this: Does this, O Nathanael, seem to you a great matter, and have you for this confessed me to be King of Israel? What then will you say when you see 'angels ascending and descending on me'? He persuades him by these words to receive him as Lord also of the angels. For on him as on the king's own son, the royal ministers ascended and descended, once at the season of the crucifixion, again at the time of the resurrection and the ascension, and before this also, when they 'came and ministered to him' (Matthew 4:11). They also ascended and descended when they proclaimed the good news of his birth and cried, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace' (Luke 2:14), when they came to Mary and also when they came to Joseph... Our Lord made the present a proof of the future. After the powers he had already shown, Nathanael would readily believe that much more would follow." (excerpt from the Homilies On the Gospel of John 21.1)

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FEAST OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, JOHN 1:45-51
(Revelation 21:9b-14; Psalm 145)

KEY VERSE: "Philip said to him, ‘Come and see’” (Jn 1:46).
TO KNOW: Nathanael (called "Bartholomew" in the synoptic gospels) was skeptical when Philip told him that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God. The scriptures said that the Messiah would come from David's city, Bethlehem in Judah (Mi 5:1), not from a lowly place like Nazareth in Galilee. Philip invited Nathanael to come and judge for himself. Jesus overcame Nathanael's doubts by a demonstration of supernatural knowledge: "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree" (v.48). Jesus said that Nathanael was guileless, a "true Israelite" like Jacob, the first to bear the name "Israel" (Gn 32:29). Even though Jacob was a man of deception, he witnessed angelic beings ascending and descending to heaven (Gn 28:12). Nathanael would see even greater things in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
TO LOVE: Have I responded to Jesus' invitation to follow him today?
TO SERVE: St. Bartholomew, help me to overcome any doubts that I might have.

Feast of SAINT Bartholomew, Apostle

In the Gospel of John, Bartholomew is not mentioned in the list of the Apostles. In the other gospels, Nathanael is not mentioned, but the place after Philip is accorded to Bartholomew. Hence, many Scripture scholars believe Bartholomew is the Nathanael in question. Nathanael bar Tolomai (or Bartholomew) was probably a close friend of Philip as his name is always mentioned in the Gospels in connection with him, and it was Philip who brought Bartholomew to Jesus. Nathanael may have written a gospel, now lost, as it is mentioned in other writings of the time. He may have preached in Asia Minor, Ethiopia, India, and Armenia where local tradition says that he was flayed and beheaded.​

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Saturday 24 August 2019

St Bartholomew

Apocalypse 21:9-14. Psalm 144(145):10-13, 17-18. John 1:45-51.

Your friends tell the glory of your kingship, Lord – Psalm 144(145):10-13, 17-18.

‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’

The story of how Nathanael became a disciple is rich in its understanding of the dimensions of faith in Jesus. Nathanael, believed also to be Bartholomew, is from Cana near Nazareth. The disciples introduce Jesus as the son of Joseph from Nazareth and add that he is the one whose coming was foretold by the law and the prophets. Nathanael is not impressed. He does not have much time for Nazareth. The disciples press him to at least come and see Jesus, so he agrees.

Jesus recognises Nathanael’s integrity, proclaiming him as one without deceit. ‘You are indeed the Son of God’, Nathanael says to Jesus without hesitation. Jesus then tells this man who has no guile that much deeper understandings than this will be revealed to him and the world in due course. The angels of God will ascend and descend on the Son of Man!

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Saint Bartholomew

Saint of the Day for August 24

(b. 1st century)

 

Sant Bertolomeu | Bernat Jiménez

Saint Bartholomew’s Story

In the New Testament, Bartholomew is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles. Some scholars identify him with Nathanael, a man of Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by Philip. Jesus paid him a great compliment: “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him” (John 1:47b). When Nathanael asked how Jesus knew him, Jesus said, “I saw you under the fig tree” (John 1:48b). Whatever amazing revelation this involved, it brought Nathanael to exclaim, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (John 1:49b). But Jesus countered with, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this” (John 1:50b).

Nathanael did see greater things. He was one of those to whom Jesus appeared on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias after his resurrection (see John 21:1-14). They had been fishing all night without success. In the morning, they saw someone standing on the shore though no one knew it was Jesus. He told them to cast their net again, and they made so great a catch that they could not haul the net in. Then John cried out to Peter, “It is the Lord.”

When they brought the boat to shore, they found a fire burning, with some fish laid on it and some bread. Jesus asked them to bring some of the fish they had caught, and invited them to come and eat their meal. John relates that although they knew it was Jesus, none of the apostles presumed to inquire who he was. This, John notes, was the third time Jesus appeared to the apostles.

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Reflection

Bartholomew or Nathanael? We are confronted again with the fact that we know almost nothing about most of the apostles. Yet the unknown ones were also foundation stones, the 12 pillars of the new Israel whose 12 tribes now encompass the whole earth. Their personalities were secondary—without thereby being demeaned—to their great office of bearing tradition from their firsthand experience, speaking in the name of Jesus, putting the Word Made Flesh into human words for the enlightenment of the world. Their holiness was not an introverted contemplation of their status before God. It was a gift that they had to share with others. The Good News was that all are called to the holiness of being Christ’s members, by the gracious gift of God.

The simple fact is that humanity is totally meaningless unless God is its total concern. Then humanity, made holy with God’s own holiness, becomes the most precious creation of God.

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Saint Bartholomew is the Patron Saint of:

Plasterers

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Lectio: St. Bartholomew, Apostle

Lectio Divina

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,
help us to seek the values
that will bring us enduring joy in this changing world.
In our desire for what You promise
make us one in mind and heart.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - John 1:45-51

Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth." But Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this." And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

3) Reflection

• Jesus returned to Galilee. He met Philip and called him telling him, “Follow Me!” The purpose of the call is always the same: to follow Jesus. The first Christians sought to preserve the names of the first disciples, and some they even kept their family names and the name of their place of origin. Philip, Andrew and Peter were from Bethsaida (Jn 1:44). Nathanael was from Cana. Today many forget the names of the people who were at the origin of their communities. To remember the names is a way of preserving the identity.

• Philip meets Nathanael and speaks to him about Jesus: “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Jesus is the one to whom all the history of the Old Testament refers.

• Nathanael asks, “From Nazareth? Can anything good come from that place?” His  question probably shows that there was some of the rivalry which existed among the small villages of the same region: Cana and Nazareth. Besides that, according to the official teaching of the scribes, the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, in Judah. He could not come from Nazareth in Galilee (Jn 7:41-42). Philip gives the same answer which Jesus had given to the other two disciples: “Come and see for yourself!” It is not by imposing, but rather by seeing, that people are convinced. Once again the same way: to meet, to experience, to share, to witness, to lead toward Jesus!

• Jesus sees Nathanael and says, “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deception.” Then He declares that He already knew him when he was under the fig tree. How could Nathanael be an “authentic or true Israelite” if he did not accept Jesus as the Messiah? Nathanael “was under the fig tree.” The fig tree was the symbol of Israel (cf. Mic 4:4; Zech 3:10; 1 Kg 5:5). An authentic Israelite is the one who knows how to detach himself from his own ideas when he perceives that they are not in agreement with God’s plan. The Israelite who is not ready to bring about this conversion is neither authentic nor honest. Nathanael is authentic. He was waiting for the Messiah according to the official teaching of the time (Jn 7:41-42,52). This is why at first, he did not accept a Messiah coming from Nazareth. But the encounter with Jesus helped him to understand that God’s plan is not always as people imagine or desire it to be. He recognizes and acknowledges his deception or mistake. He changes his idea, accepts Jesus as Messiah and confesses, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel !” Nathanael’s confession is only the beginning: The one who will be faithful will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. He will experience that Jesus is the new bond of union between God and us, human beings. It is Jacob’s dream which has become a reality (Gen 28:10-22).

4) Personal questions

• Which title of Jesus that pleases you the most? Why?
• Have you had an intermediary between you and Jesus?

5) Concluding prayer

Upright in all that He does,
Yahweh acts only in faithful love. (Ps 145:17)

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