Servant of the Word: Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

“The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew “
by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1722

Biographical Information about St. Bartholomew [1]

Readings for the Feast of Saint Bartholomew [2]

Commentary:

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 12 (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 21:9 757, 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.

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

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 considered duplicitous. “True son” would relate him to Abraham.

Next we hear the Lord respond to Bartholomew when he asks “How do you know me?” with the statement “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 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” at his awakening Jacob exclaims “This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!"

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Reflection:

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, it is said 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, we believe that St. Bartholomew will intercede for us. Consider for a moment, one of the names referred to 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” 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 forming 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!

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

[2] S.S Commemoratio