“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.” (Psalm 145:10-11).
Reflections on the readings for the Feast of St. Bartholomew (August 24, 2022): REV 21:9-14; PS 145:10-11,12-13,17-18; JN 1:45-51
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
Through their mission and that of all who followed, we are here today to proclaim Jesus, our Lord and our God.
Known in the Synoptic Gospels of Ss. Matthew, Mark and Luke as Bartholomew, the Apostle we revere on this feast is called Nathaniel in the Gospel according to St. John. We meet him when St. Philip, already a follower of Christ, excitedly tells him that the one written about by Moses and the prophets is Jesus of Nazareth. “But Nathaniel said to him, ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see’” (John 1:46). When he did, he was overwhelmed when Jesus acknowledged him as one without duplicity. Christ then shocks him by saying He had seen what he was doing before they met. The new convert, like the other Apostles and disciples, will learn in time that Jesus is not only the Messiah, but truly the Son of God. After the Ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Bartholomew and the other Apostles start to take up their roles as missionaries, leaving Jerusalem for the wider world.
St. Bartholomew is said to have traveled to India before heading to Armenia where he is venerated as one of its patrons. He is believed to have died a martyr’s death there -- flayed alive for sharing the Christian faith. In the first reading today, we hear from the Book of Revelation about the coming of the New Jerusalem at the end of the world: “The angel … took me in spirit to a great mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. … 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” (Revelation 21: 9-10,14). Of course, this would include St. Bartholomew. While we know little about him and most of the other Apostles and faithful disciples, we know that they were chosen to follow our Lord in a special way and to carry on the Church in His name. Through preaching, through Baptism and the other sacraments, they witnessed to Christ. They did this not only through their words, but also through the example of their lives and, often, their deaths. Through their mission and that of all who followed, we are here today to proclaim Jesus, our Lord and our God.
Suggested missionary action: We can pray to St. Bartholomew asking his help in sharing the Good News through our own lives, in word and in example. Let us also pray for our brothers and sisters who are still persecuted for their faith in Christ.
