August
24
St. Bartholomew
(Apostle)
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.
Comment:
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.
Quote:
“Like Christ himself, the apostles were unceasingly bent upon bearing
witness to the truth of God. They showed special courage in speaking ‘the
word of God with boldness’ (Acts 4:31) before the people and their rulers.
With a firm faith they held that the gospel is indeed the power of God unto
salvation for all who believe.... They followed the example of the
gentleness and respectfulness of Christ” (Vatican II, Declaration on
Religious Freedom, 11).
(The
statue 'Saint Bartholomew Flayed', by Marco d'Agrate, 1562; Milan Cathedral,
Milan, Italy; photographed on 8 July 2014 by hjl; swiped from his flickr
account and cropped).