Daily Readings August 24, 2012

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

Lectionary: 629

St. Bartholomew, Apostle.

One of the Twelve Apostles, mentioned sixth in the three Gospel lists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and seventh in the list of Acts (1:13).  The name (Bartholomaios) means "son of Talmai" (or Tholmai) which was an ancient Hebrew name, borne, e.g. by the King of Gessur whose daughter was a wife of David (2 Samuel 3:3). It shows, at least, that Bartholomew was of Hebrew descent; it may have been his genuine proper name or simply added to distinguish him as the son of Talmai. Outside the instances referred to, no other mention of the name occurs in the New Testament. Nothing further is known of him for certain.

Many scholars, however, identify him with Nathaniel (John 1:45-51; 21:2)....Which explains why the Gospel today is about the Apostle Nathaniel.  Read more, hit the back button to return.

Reading 1 Rv 21:9b-14

We begin in the midst of St. John's vision of heaven.

The angel spoke to me, saying,"Come here.I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

The angel approaches John and says, "let me show you the Bride of Christ."

He took me in spirit to a great, high mountainand showed me the holy city Jerusalemcoming down out of heaven from God.

He took me into a Mt. Sion and showed me the Church coming down from heaven.

It gleamed with the splendor of God.

It was bright with God's light.

Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,like jasper, clear as crystal.It had a massive, high wall,with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationedand on which names were inscribed,the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

The splendor of the Church is that of heaven.  The number twelve is repeated here many times in reference to many things.  Angels, tribes, and continuing below.

There were three gates facing east,three north, three south, and three west.The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,on which were inscribed the twelve namesof the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

The number three is also repeated many times.

As for the number twelve, as I understand, it signifies perfection and eternity.  You can see why it is applied to the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly Church.

The number three represents the Blessed Trinity.  It faces in every direction because God is omnipresent and omniscient.  It is mentioned in terms of gates because God wants all men to enter therein and be saved.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18

R. (12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.

R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

God's friends are the Saints and the Prophets whom He has sent throughout the world to invite all to the wedding feast of the Lamb:

Revelation 19:7
King James Version (KJV)
⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Gospel Jn 1:45-51

Philip found Nathanael and told him,"We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."

Philip told Nathan, we have found the Christ, He is Jesus of Nazareth.

But Nathanael said to him,"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"

I find this sort of comical.  Nathan questions if anything good may ever come from the town of Nazareth.

Philip said to him, "Come and see."Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,

Philip says, come on and see for yourself.

"Here is a true child of Israel.There is no duplicity in him."

Jesus, when He sees Nathan says, here is true Israelite.  He is not a hypocrite.

Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"

Nathan must have been aware of a reputation for honesty, because he responds, "How do you know that I am considered very honest?"

Jesus answered and said to him,"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."

I'm not certain what Nathan was doing under the fig tree.  Nor whether the fig tree represents anything spiritual.  But it seems to mean a great deal to Nathan.

Nathanael answered him,"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

Because he immediately responds, "Now I know you are the Messaih, the Son of God."

What I wonder, when I hear this statement, is why Nathan didn't merit to become the Rock before St. Peter.  This is essentially the same confession St. Peter made in Matt 16:18.

Jesus answered and said to him,"Do you believebecause I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?You will see greater things than this."And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,you will see heaven opened and the angels of Godascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Jesus says to Nathan, "What? You are impressed because I saw you under the fig tree?  You will see greater things than that, you will see God's angels ascending and descending upon Me."

Sincerely,

De Maria