Check It Out

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apostles, Jesus, judging others, Nathaniel, Philip, St. Bartholomew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

We know very little about most of the men that we call apostles, the ones closest to Jesus during his “public life.” (Today’s saint is even less well-known because he is sometimes called Bartholomew and sometimes Nathaniel!) There are two things in the gospel for today (JN 1:45-51) that caught my attention. The first was right at the beginning where Philip sought out Nathaniel to take him to meet Jesus. Today’s passage begins with Philip saying: “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law.” My question was about who the “we” is/are and what is the evidence they had. When Philip gave him the slightest background (“Joseph’s son, from Nazareth”), Nathaniel was obviously not interested, asking “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip didn’t give up, however. He invited Nathaniel to “Come and see.” By his persistence we can intuit prior encounters of others.

I presume Nathaniel was surprised when Jesus saw him coming and said, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him” Then addressing Nathaniel directly, he said, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” And that was enough for Nathaniel to believe that Jesus was the one they would know as “Son of God.”

Admittedly, the gospels are rather sketchy, not giving us full descriptions of events and conversations. My “takeaways” from the above encounter are the following:

#1: How quick we are to judge people by where they come from and what is the status of their family, and #2: How important it is to trust other people while also judging for ourselves by checking out what they have told us.

What’s in a Name?

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companionship, Jesus, St. Bartholomew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, twelve apostles

Some of us were taught the names of the twelve apostles – the closest companions of Jesus during his public life – as they’re listed in the gospels. I get stuck sometimes when running the list but am always sure I could find them again if need be. There are also a couple of texts where we find Jesus calling one or another of these “Twelve” to follow him. What some may not be aware of (and what is rarely noticed) is that the apostle in the list whose feast is today, Bartholomew, is also the one to whom Jesus said “I saw you under the fig tree” whose name is Nathaniel!

Scholars have undoubtedly wrestled with this issue – or found a simple answer to it. I have just never heard any explanation. What it does remind me, however, is that we know very little about the close companions of Jesus but that they were more or less like all of us: faithful but sometimes clueless, obedient to the mission, and even passionate about it, regular folks who were not chosen for their scholarship or IQ but rather by their willingness and ability to follow the one who was unlike any other “Master,” who called them to a ministry of love and service that meant giving their lives to God, whatever that meant.

When the apostles said “Yes” to Jesus, they likely had no idea what it would cost but they gave it anyway. We might say the same thing in our living out of our commitments for the good of humanity and the love of God. Living every day is the only way it works. Opening ourselves and not worrying about becoming famous – or even whether people remember our names – is the way of close companionship with Christ. And that relationship is worth everything.

Bartholomew, One of the Twelve

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Apostle, encounters, Good News, influence, Jesus, pillars, shine, St. Bartholomew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The saint whose feast is celebrated today is known only as one mentioned in the list of the original twelve apostles; nothing else is known about him. The Franciscan media commentary says that we are confronted with the fact that we know almost nothing about most of the apostles. Bartholomew certainly fits that description. There’s even a question if Bartholomew is the man who was also known as Nathaniel, a man from Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by Philip. As Franciscan Father Don Miller points out, however, the unknown ones were also pillars of the new Israel whose 12 tribes now encompass the whole earth…bearing tradition from their firsthand experience by sharing the “good news” of Jesus throughout the known world.

I think about these men – and, I dare say, women – whose entire lives were changed by their encounters with Jesus. They were not famous before they met him, nor after for the most part. They were just people on fire because of what they heard that touched their hearts who were compelled to share what they had come to trust as directive for their lives.

Has anyone influenced you in such a way that you are led to deeper, fuller experiences of life? Have you been that person for anyone else? Is it possible that you aren’t aware of your effect for good on someone’s life? Perhaps today is a day to dust off our best attributes and let them shine on all the people we encounter. We owe it to God for giving us such gifts to use them for the good of others, whether anyone remembers our name or not. Knowing the possibility of such influence ought to be enough to convince us that laziness isn’t an option. In whatever circumstances we live through this day, let’s get out there and shine!

 

 

 

 

 

The Time Is Now

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acepting, blessing, burdened with fear, Divine Light, free, glory, gratitude, heart of my heart, love, Nan Merrill, new dawn, Psalm 145, Psalms for Praying, radical trust, raise up, St. Bartholomew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wonder

On this feast of St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles, I was drawn to the translation of Psalm 145 written by Nan Merrill in her book Psalms for Praying. While very different from the traditional English translation, I found it a powerful message for today’s disciples. It begins around verse 10.

God Speaks: Divine Light shines in those who live in Love. I shall uphold all who are burdened with fear, and raise up all who call to Me. The time is nigh for you to choose, for great is the new dawn that fast approaches; I call each of you to open your inner ears, to see with spiritual eyes, and to trust that even amidst the outward chaos, all is working toward the wholeness of humanity.

The disciple responds: O Heart of my heart, envelop me! I know You are near to all who call upon You. Bring to my recollection all that I have denied, that I might be accepting and free, to help rebuild the soul of the world with radical trust, love and wonder! When I speak, let it be of blessing and gratitude; let your glory within me shine out to the world!