Feast of Saint Bartholomew, apostle
(Revelation 21:9b-14;
John 1:45-51)
The twelve apostles
are not known equally. Some, if fact,
are hardly known at all. Today’s feast
celebrates the apostle Bartholomew who is known chiefly because his identity is
tied to Nathanael in today’s gospel. In
the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke “Bartholomew” is listed after
Philip. Because in John the story of
Nathanael’s calling is treated directly after Philip’s, Nathanael and
Bartholomew are presumed to be the same person.
In the story Nathanael
makes a statement tantamount to Peter’s declaration of Jesus in Matthew’s
Gospel. He calls Jesus “the Son of God”
and the “King of Israel.” Jesus does not
hail him as “the rock” upon which Jesus will build his church. But in saying these things, Nathanael
fulfills Jesus’ prophecy that he is “a true child of Israel.” In ancient times “Israel” was said to mean,
one “seeing God.” Jesus predicts that
Nathanael will have even greater reason for saying Jesus is the “Son of God”
when he sees angels “ascending and descending” on him. He is referring to the signs that he will
work and Nathanael will witness.
The apostles were
privileged witnesses to Jesus. They saw
him work miracles and saw him risen from the dead. Sounds wonderful, but it must be remembered
that they suffered for telling others about what they saw. It is commonly believed that all except John
underwent martyrdom. Because of their
testimony, we can say also that Jesus is the “Son of God” whose teachings we
are to follow and whose sacrificial love we are to emulate.
