It is 24th August 2020. We celebrate the Feast of St Bartholomew the Apostle. The readings are from Revelations21:9-14; and the Gospel from John 1:45-51.
St. Bartholomew traditionally identified with Nathanael who came from Cana.
We are called and commissioned by God through Jesus. Attachment aggregates in understanding and love.
Every one of us has a received the vocation from the Lord. Jesus has chosen us for His work. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” (Jn.15:16). There is a closer connection between our vocation and our quest for truth. “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph 1:4).
The first reading teaches us that the Church, New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ built on the foundation of faith and sacrifices of the apostles. Twelve angels, stones, gates, and foundations all symbolize the twelve Apostles.
In the Gospel we heard about the calling of Nathaniel whose name is associated with St. Bartholomew. Jesus himself calls him “a man in whom there is no deception.” Sincerity and single mindedness are the key to commitment. Every calling leads us to have a communion of grace. Our vocation is an act of hope in future and faith in action
The responsorial Psalm acclaims, “Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.” (Ps. 145:12).
The Gospel narrates the personal encounter of Nathanael with Jesus leading him to believe Jesus.
Philip led him to Jesus. Who is bringing us closer to Jesus? If we feel no one does, surely the Holy Spirit is doing.
When Philip told Nathanael, we have found “Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, Jesus of Narareth, the son of Joseph,” (Jn.1:45). Nathanael answered in prejudice: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn.1:46). Unknown and less popular villages cannot bring saints is the belief of the saint of the day. Some of us are guileless but prejudiced and predetermined of the abode of the truth. Can any good thing come out of this family, this person and this place is the beginning of every quest marked by freedom to find Him in the least expected places and people.
At times, words are not sufficient in knowing and believing Jesus. We all need a fresh and first-hand experience with the Lord. “Come and see!” (Jn 1: 46). The praise of Jesus about Nathanael is from “Blessed is the man… in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Ps.31: 2).
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you.” (Jer. 1:5). Jesus noticed Nathanael under the fig tree. Jesus knew us before anyone spotted us.
The confession of Nathanael: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (Jn 1: 49). We all need that personal connection with the Lord to believe and grow in His love. “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” (Deus Caritas Est, on Christian love, para 1). The pedagogy of catechesis depends on the personal experience with Jesus. Unless we are attracted by the person of Jesus, we cannot be attached to Him. May the Lord kindly bless us to be generous in responding to His call and leading others to know Jesus by our life. Have a lovely day. God bless you.