St.Barholomew Apostle

Although we know relatively little about the Apostle Bartholomew, we can learn a great deal from him. We know that he came from Cana (Jn 21), and it is quite possible that he witnessed Jesus’ first public miracle there during the wedding feast (Jn 2:1–11). He preached the faith in Arabia and later in Armenia, where he was martyred. Tradition holds that his death was particularly cruel and painful: he was flayed alive. Bartholomew may not have been his actual given name, because the name is a patronymic referring to his father, whose name was probably Talmai or Tolmai. Thus, Bar-Talmai or Bar-Tolmai means “son of Talmai/Tolmai.”

In the lists of the apostles recorded in the Synoptic Gospels (Lk 6:14–16; Mt 10:2–4; Mk 3:16–19), Bartholomew is always mentioned together with, or next to, Philip. Perhaps this is because it was Philip who joyfully brought him the news about the Messiah and later introduced him to Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Philip’s friend is called Nathanael, a name meaning “God has given.” Traditionally, Bartholomew has been identified with Nathanael.

The Gospel account that we hear on today’s feast tells us about Nathanael’s first encounter with Jesus. We can draw several lessons from this event. When Philip tells him that the Messiah is from Nazareth, Nathanael finds this unacceptable for two reasons. From Scripture, Nathanael knows that the Messiah is to come from Bethlehem, the city of David. Secondly, he cannot imagine that the Messiah could come from Nazareth, because it is only a small and obscure village, so insignificant that it is not even mentioned in the Old Testament, nor can any prophecy about it be found there. His remark is therefore somewhat sarcastic: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

The first lesson is that God’s ways are not our ways. He works in mysterious and unexpected ways. His decisions and actions cannot be limited by our expectations or reactions. Many times, we want God to conform to our own expectations and prejudices. Nathanael is no different. He is convinced that Jesus cannot be the Messiah because he comes from Nazareth, not realizing that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David.

Secondly, God generally prefers to use human instruments rather than doing everything directly by himself. Jesus calls Nathanael through his friend Philip, Simon Peter through his brother Andrew, and there are many other similar examples. We often judge and criticize these human instruments. We may even go so far as to question the wisdom of God’s choices. But Saint Paul reminds us that “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor 1:27).

Jesus praised Nathanael: “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Jesus praised Nathanael for his honesty in expressing what he thought. However, there is another possible interpretation of this remark. Jesus may very well be making a friendly joke and teasing Nathanael in response to his sarcastic comment about Nazareth. In this way, he makes Nathanael realize his mistake in judging a person on the basis of cultural or historical background.

Finally, we must not be satisfied merely with what others tell us. That is why Philip’s answer to Nathanael’s question is an invitation: “Come and see!” The testimony of others is important because our Christian faith is, in fact, the fruit of the proclamation and preaching of countless witnesses. Yet our knowledge of Jesus should ultimately come from our personal relationship with him.

The Samaritan woman at the well is a good example. After speaking with Jesus, she went and told the people of her town about him. But when they themselves had seen and heard Jesus, they said to the woman: “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world” (Jn 4:42).

This is exactly what happened to Nathanael. After his personal encounter with Jesus, he makes a profound profession of faith: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

And Jesus rewards him with a solemn promise: “You will see greater things than these.” Then, using imagery that recalls Daniel 7:13, he says: “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”