24 August 2018
Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
A bit of confusion may arise from today’s Gospel being read on today’s feast. The Church is celebrating the apostle St. Bartholomew, so why are we hearing about the call of Nathaniel? Since John does not mention the name Bartholomew in his gospel, but associates Nathaniel with Philip and the other apostles, and since the other evangelists do not mention Nathaniel, but associate the apostle Bartholomew particularly with St. Philip, therefore Christian tradition has long identified Nathaniel as the son of Tholomai (the meaning of the name, Bartholomew).
What can we learn of this apostle from the description of his calling? Nathaniel shows us the great joy which comes from humility. If Nathaniel had been proud, then he would have simply dismissed Philip’s proclamation of having found the One foretold by Moses and the prophets. As St. John Chrysostom points out, Philip does not proclaim Jesus as coming from Bethlehem, where the prophets foretold, but describes Jesus as from Nazareth. Rather than dismissing his friend, however, Nathaniel follows Philip’s invitation to come and see the One foretold.
Christ Himself asserts that Nathaniel has a humble and sincere heart, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” (Jn 1:47) Nathaniel truly has no ulterior motives when he converses with the Lord, but asks his questions with humility. As a result, his heart is open to recognize that this Jesus with whom he speaks knows him intimately, as only the Son of God could. Through the intercession of St. Bartholomew, may we be given the gift of humility, so that we may recognize with joy the God who knows us and loves us and calls us to Himself.