HOMILY WEEK 20 06 – Year II
Called to Unite Heaven and Earth:
Feast of St. Bartholomew
(Rev 21:9b-14; Ps 145; Jn 1:45-51)
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A somewhat forgetful preacher at a wedding was an ardent fisherman. He asked the groom, “Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish this woman?” “I do,” said the groom meekly. “Okay,” said the minister to the bride, “Reel him in.”
Fishing involves four basic actions: holding a rod and reel, casting out the line, hooking a fish and reeling the fish in. The readings for today’s feast of the apostle St. Bartholomew involve four similar realities relating to discipleship: faith in Jesus, reaching out to others, inviting them to meet Jesus, and bringing them to Jesus.
The psalm is all about the deepest reality of our faith – the glory and splendor of the kingdom of God Jesus came to inaugurate among us, here on earth, right here and right now. That is the goal of our faith, the “catch” so to speak.
The first reading from a vision of St. John relies heavily on Eastern numerology to describe a holy, heavenly Jerusalem. The repeated combinations of the numbers 3, 4 and 12 all symbolize wholeness, completion, perfection. The holy city symbolizes the Church and its destiny, to someday be made whole and perfect as the bride of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
The role of the Church is to help bring about the reign of God here on earth. That process began with the call of Jesus to very ordinary fishermen like Philip to become his disciples. They would be the ones who would be the core of this new reality, his Body on earth tasked to build up that reign of God.
The heart of being a disciple of Jesus and the process of evangelizing and building up the reign of God is played out in the gospel. First of all, Philip is called by Jesus, gets to know him, and believes in him as the fulfillment of the Old Testament law and prophecy. That is his “rod and reel.” He then “casts out his line” and goes to find Nathaniel. Philip then “hooks” Nathaniel by inviting him to come and see Jesus. He then “reels him in” by taking him personally to meet Jesus. Nathaniel then in turn encounters Jesus, is amazed at how Jesus already knew him, and makes a heartfelt spontaneous act of faith, “You are the Son of God, the King of Israel.”
Here we see discipleship and evangelization in action: a faith-encounter with Jesus, reaching out to share him with others, inviting others to get to know Jesus, and then personally bringing them to meet Jesus.
I learned the hard way how important it is to personally accompany others to meet Jesus, and not just tell them about him. I had talked five Indigenous married couples from a community in which I was ministering to attend a Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend, knowing it would greatly enrich their relationships. The parish would pay for their registration. All they had to do was get there. Unfortunately, not one couple went, and in fact, shortly after that, one husband had an affair that broke up that marriage. I realized too late I should have been more flexible and gone with them. Had I done that, I am sure they would have come along. I had failed to be a Philip to them and take them to Jesus.
It is interesting that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke and the Acts of the Apostles count Bartholomew as one of the 12 apostles, associating his name with Philip. John’s Gospel, however, links the name Nathaniel with Philip but never mentions Bartholomew. Apart from that, we know little about him.
Some scholars identify the apostle Bartholomew with Nathaniel, a solution supported by the fact that Bartholomew could be a surname (‘bar Tolomai,’, son of Tolomai) and Nathaniel a given name: Nathaniel Bartholomew. If so, then Bartholomew was the man in whom the Lord saw ‘no guile’ and one who was among the apostles when the risen Lord appeared by the Sea of Galilee.
What is certain is that Bartholomew left everything to follow Jesus, becoming his disciple, friend and an apostle entrusted with evangelizing, with the continuation of his mission.
Nathaniel Bartholomew was so moved by Jesus that after Pentecost he went on to be a bold evangelist. Tradition tells us he travelled as far as Armenia, where he is said to have converted King Polymius – an act leading to his martyrdom. And to think it all started when his friend Philip sought him out and brought him to Jesus.
Many people will tell you there was someone in their life whose witness had a great impact in their own life. One person reached out to them just where they were at and walked bedside them, leading them to Jesus. In fact, many saints and Christian thinkers, from St. Augustine to C. S. Lewis, tell us they owe their faith to someone who, like Philip, invited them to “come and see” (John 1:46). One such person in my life was Archbishop Emeritus Adam Exner OMI, who as my spiritual director first heard my life’s story, pointed out I needed to work on my relationship with my father, and asked me to pray with Isaiah 43:1-4 for one whole month. That one experience literally both changed and set the course for my whole life.
You too can be like Philip. You can tell your friends or family members or anyone you meet, “Come and see.” It may take just a bit of courage, but the Holy Spirit can provide what you may lack. Remember, God is the One who changes hearts; all you have to do is invite them to come to him. Just bring them to Jesus and he’ll take care of the rest.
The gospel ends with a statement to Philip about seeing angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man – an image bringing to mind Jacob’s similar dream in the Old Testament. While Jacob was profoundly moved by his vision, what he did not know was his dream was a prophetic prefiguring of what one of his descendants in the line of David would do – unite heaven and earth. Jesus, both divine and human, is entrusting to his disciples, and to us, his Body the Church, the task of continuing to build up the reign of God here on earth that he came to inaugurate.
May our celebration today empower us to do just that – continue to unite heaven and earth by our faith, hope and love.
