Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 24, 2019
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.”
Today, John shares a story of call and recognition. As soon as Nathanael turns to Jesus, Jesus immediately recognizes him as part of God’s family and welcomes the new disciple. Nathanael, however, hesitates in his recognition of Jesus as the Son of God, and requires some proof, which comes in the form of Jesus’ recognition of Nathanael. As Christians, we should strive to follow this example of recognizing how God acts in our lives every day and hope that we recognize God as Nathanael eventually did.
Recognizing the role God plays in our lives day-to-day is, of course, easier said than done. I find that one of my close friends has an effective, easy-to-remember way of working towards recognizing God daily: maintain an “attitude of gratitude”. In order to see God in our daily lives, we need to acknowledge that even the smallest graces come from God in one way or another and we should thank God for these blessings. God acts in our lives on a daily basis. Sometimes God comes to us as inspiration on a project at work, or in words of encouragement from a friend, or in a particularly beautiful sunset. In these moments, God challenges us to recognize God as Nathanael did in today’s gospel. Where do we see God in our daily lives and what can we do to be able to recognize and appreciate God’s presence?
Prayer
In your goodness, O Lord God, you chose Bartholomew to follow in the footsteps of your Son. In so doing he became his disciple and intimate friend in the founding of the early Christian Church. Inspire all your Christian people today to live in such a way that they too can be called disciples of Jesus in the building of his kingdom on earth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
There is a fascinating, roundabout story in how Bartholomew came to be one of the twelve disciples:
Jesus walked by his cousin, John the Baptist, who encouraged two of his own followers to follow Christ. One of those two was Andrew, who went and found his brother, Simon Peter. Andrew and Simon Peter had a friend from their hometown, Philip, so Jesus went there to speak to him. Philip told his friend, Bartholomew, that he had found the messiah, and Bartholomew encountered Jesus for himself and confessed him as the Son of God (John 1).
Isn’t this how human beings work? When we find something important, we recommend it to our friends. In today’s age, we “like” something on Facebook, or “re-tweet” it on Twitter.
As Bartholomew experienced, however, nothing replaces a face-to-face encounter—it was only when he met Jesus for himself that he believed.
Bartholomew’s personal encounter with Christ changed him so fundamentally that he traveled as far as India to tell others about Jesus. He was willing to even die for this faith: he was flayed alive before being beheaded.
Jesus assembled his followers by diving into a network of relationships. He continues to do this today—he continues to call us within the relationships of our own lives. Let us be open to that call from others and respond, as Bartholomew did, by seeking a one-on-one encounter with Christ.
St. Bartholomew is depicted in stained glass in the Morrissey hall chapel; the knives are a sign of his martyrdom (he was skinned alive and beheaded). His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and this illustration of him is held by the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. He is patron of those with neurological diseases, butchers and leatherworkers.
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Bartholomew is always shown accompanying Philip; the name Bartholomew does not appear in the Gospel of John, but tradition holds that he is called Nathaniel in that Gospel because Nathaniel is shown in the company of Philip.
St. Bartholomew, you found Christ through your friends, pray for us!
Luigi Gregori (Italian, 1819-1896), Saint Bartholomew (after Perugino), n.d., black chalk on tracing paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Gift of Luigi Gregori, AA2009.056.297.