Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 24, 2020
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Today’s gospel tells a story of recognition. Jesus recognizes Nathaniel and Nathaniel recognizes Jesus. Because Jesus recognizes him, Nathaniel is able to proclaim, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Even though Nathaniel had never met Jesus before, he sees Jesus for who he really is: the Messiah. And this is just the first chapter of the Gospel of John!
But before Nathaniel’s epiphany comes his skepticism. When his companion Philip tells him about Jesus, Nathaniel responds with the rather dismissive question, “can anything good come from Nazareth?” It seems that Nathaniel has already made up his mind about Jesus before he even meets him. This makes me think, when have I made up my mind about someone before really getting to know him or her (or even before meeting the person, for that matter)? There are a range of prejudices that lurk in the far corners of my mind that I can barely even recognize until they show up in my thoughts, some fairly benign others more harmful. But once these prejudices do appear, do I have the courage to examine myself and confront them? This gospel challenges me to do just that.
Philip does not answer Nathaniel’s question or refute his objection, he simply says, “come and see.” And Nathaniel does. He takes the step of actually meeting the person about whom he made his assumptions. He is open to the encounter of finding out who he is and what he is about. The rest, as they say, is history. It is a history that is still alive today as we celebrate the feast of the apostle Nathaniel (whom we also know as Batholomew).
Jesus reveals himself to us through our relationships with others–this is what it means to be a part of a faith that exists in community. If we are closed off to really encountering others because of our prejudices, are we closing ourselves off to encountering Christ? I pray for the faith of Nathaniel and the courage to, “come and see.”
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.