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| “The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew “ by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1722 |
Reading 1: Revelation 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.
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Commentary on Rv 21:9b-14
God shows St. John the New Jerusalem, Christ’s heavenly Kingdom. The evangelist has borrowed much of his description from Ezekiel (Chapters 40-48). He is taken to a high mountain (Ezekiel 40 2-3) and sees the heavenly vision, as God’s presence transforms his Kingdom into a radiant fortress. St. John’s description supports images of evangelization (see 2 Corinthians 4:6). The repeating number twelve (twelve angels, twelve tribes, twelve names) alludes to the perfect continuity between God’s relationship with the Old Testament peoples (Ezekiel 48:30-35 and Exodus 28:17-21) and the Church (Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:29-30). He concludes his vision providing an analogy: the preaching of the apostles (and prophets) is to the Church as a foundation is to an edifice (see Ephesians 2:20).
CCC: Rv 21:1-22:5 117; Rv 21:9 757, 865, 1045, 1138; Rv 21:10-11 865; Rv 21:12-14 765; Rv 21:14 857, 865, 869
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 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.
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Commentary on Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18
Psalm 145 is a hymn of praise. These strophes call on the faithful to give thanks to God for opening the gates of his heavenly Kingdom. The psalmist (David) rejoices in the image of God’s heavenly Kingdom as its very existence announces God’s glory to the world. They continue praising God for his justice and his creating hand. God in turn supports his faithful servants and blesses their efforts.
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Gospel: 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.”
Commentary on Jn 1:45-51
St. John’s Gospel gives us the story of the call of Bartholomew (Nathanael). The symbolism used in the story is rich in the Hebrew tradition. When Jesus comments: “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him,” he is referring to Jacob, who first was called Israel but tricked his father Isaac, receiving his blessing above Esau and therefore was considered duplicitous. “True child” would relate him to Abraham.
Next, we hear the Lord respond to Bartholomew when he asks: “How do you know me?” Jesus says, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” The fig tree is a symbol of messianic peace. In this statement Jesus identifies himself as the Messiah. Bartholomew understands and immediately responds in faith: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God.”
There is a possible reference to Genesis 28:11-17 in the final verse of St. John’s account. The dream of Jacob sees the same “angels of God ascending and descending.” Awakening from his dream, Jacob exclaims: “This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!"
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Reflection:
Heavenly Father, we humbly pray that those suffering from the coronavirus be returned quickly to full health by the power of your Son’s healing presence, and those in fear be calmed through the Holy Spirit.
In Christ’s name we pray. – Amen.
One day, after all that must happen before heaven is reached, we hope to meet Saint Bartholomew face to face and discover the mystery of his identity in Sacred Scripture. The mere fact that we do not have piles of information about him tells us much. He obviously had a humble bearing and character, befitting an ambassador of Christ in the world. His legend says he evangelized vast areas, leaving a trail of bread crumbs for us to follow, from the modern-day Middle East through India. It is said that he was martyred in Armenia for converting the brother of a local monarch. Like many of those killed for the faith in those early years, his passage into physical death was as horrific as his soul’s immediate entry into the City of God was glorious.
What is important for us is our belief that, like the communion of saints whose foundation we find in 2 Maccabees 15:7ff, St. Bartholomew will intercede for us. Consider for a moment what we heard in the reading from St. John’s Revelation: “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.” Bartholomew is one of the names referred to in that passage, and he can be praying to our Lord on our behalf! So often we forget that we are joined by a vast army of saints, whose intercession we can invite.
Beyond the obvious joy we should feel, knowing that we may call upon this “Apostle of the Lamb” for prayers, we also see his heroic example. We hear in the Gospel how the Lord himself saw the saintly qualities of this friend of St. Philip’s. We know that, even before he was one of the Twelve, he was seen by others as being a person of faith. This is the real power we can share with him, our own witness to Christ in the world through our faith-filled actions, our steadfast beliefs guiding what we say and do.
Like all the Saints, we act with the love of Christ, not so we can be praised (as Bartholomew was praised by being flayed alive!), but rather that our Heavenly Father might receive the praise which is his due, for we are nothing without him.
Today we rejoice once more for a member of the Church’s foundation, one of the Twelve. Saint Bartholomew, pray for us!
In this strange year where many of us will not be able to receive the Blessed Sacrament or celebrate as a community in our houses of worship, we must be prepared to receive spiritual communion in prayer:
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
In other years: Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
[1] The picture used is “The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew “ by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1722.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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