Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Memorial, St. Bartholemew
August 24, 2006
Memorial, St. Bartholemew
Thursday 20th Week in Ordinary Time - Yr II
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.
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."
REFLECTION
A man named Bartholomew appears in the list of the apostles in each of
the three synoptic Gospels. John's Gospel speaks of the Twelve but
doesn't give a list of their names. It mentions by name only Peter,
Andrew, Philip and Nathanael. Most biblical scholars identify Nathanael
in John's Gospel as Bartholomew in the synoptics.
Bartholomew made quite an impression on Jesus. When Jesus first saw
him, he exclaimed, "There is an Israelite who deserves the name,
incapable of deceit." Bartholomew was brought to Jesus by his friend,
Philip, whom Jesus had invited to follow him on the preceding day.
Philip, as a result of his first experience of Jesus is convinced that
he is the Messiah. So he urges Bartholomew to accompany him to meet
Jesus. He tells Batholomew that he himself, along with Peter and
Andrew, had found the Messiah, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.
"From Nazareth," Bartholomew blurts out, "Can anything good come from
that place?"
Philip had used an approach that didn't appeal to Bartholomew. If you
wanted to persuade a friend to become a Christian today, to follow
Christ, how would you go about it? You'd line up a series of rational
arguments and hope your friend would see them as proof that Jesus is
the Messiah, the Son of God. I think though few people would be
persuaded to believe in Jesus by rational arguments.
This, of course, is why Philip's attempt to persuade Bartholomew
failed. He gave Bartholomew a rational reason (Philip himself and Peter
and Andrew were convinced Jesus was the Messiah, so therefore others
ought to be convinced) and Philip hoped it would lead Bartholomew to
accept Jesus as the Messiah. Having failed, Philip abandoned reasoning
and said very simply to Bartholomew, "Come and see him for yourself."
Bartholomew went with Philip, was confronted with the person of Jesus
and believed.
Elaborate, complex reasoning, whether theological or other, is not the
way to profound faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus can be found only in a
personal relationship with him.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- Thanksgiving for the petitions granted to JR
- Thanksgiving for the personal intentions of Fely, Ernie and family
- In Memoriam (+): Antonio D. Marcos, Jr.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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