The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today urge us to continue to be open to the Spirit leading us to awe, wonder, and service in our relationship with Jesus.
The reading from the Book of Revelation is a vision of the New Jerusalem.
* [21:9–22:5] Symbolic descriptions of the new Jerusalem, the church. Most of the images are borrowed from Ez 40–48.
* [21:9] The bride, the wife of the Lamb: the church (Rev 21:2), the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:10); cf. 2 Cor 11:2.
* [21:14] Courses of stones,apostles: literally, “twelve foundations”; cf. Eph 2:19–20. (Revelation, CHAPTER 21, n.d.)
Psalm 145 praises the Greatness and the Goodness of God.
* [Psalm 145] A hymn in acrostic form; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic poems usually do not develop ideas but consist rather of loosely connected statements. The singer invites all to praise God (Ps 145:1–3, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity. (Psalms, PSALM 145, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus calls the First Disciples including Nathanael.
* [1:47] A true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him: Jacob was the first to bear the name “Israel” (Gn 32:29), but Jacob was a man of duplicity (Gn 27:35–36).
* [1:48] Under the fig tree: a symbol of messianic peace (cf. Mi 4:4; Zec 3:10).
* [1:49] Son of God: this title is used in the Old Testament, among other ways, as a title of adoption for the Davidic king (2 Sm 7:14; Ps 2:7; 89:27), and thus here, with King of Israel, in a messianic sense. For the evangelist, Son of God also points to Jesus’ divinity (cf. Jn 20:28).
* [1:50] Possibly a statement: “You [singular] believe because I saw you under the fig tree.”
* [1:51] The double “Amen” is characteristic of John. You is plural in Greek. The allusion is to Jacob’s ladder (Gn 28:12). (John, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
Julie Kalkowski is thinking about today’s invitations and wondering how she would have responded.
Fear and cynicism seem to be so prevalent these days in our world. For me, they can prevent me from doing the right thing, from being open to invitations.
Perhaps next time I get summoned unexpectedly or invited to hear about someone or something new, I can take a “sacred pause” before I dismiss it out of fear or time-constraints or skepticism. This pause will give me a moment to reflect about what I am being invited to do. And maybe I’ll even remember the lyrics to The Summons before I answer.
Gracious God, help me be open to your call, to move beyond my fears and jadedness so that I can willingly respond to your invitations to “Come here” and “Come and See.” (Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The Lord of Angels,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).
"Do you see how he [Jesus] leads him [Nathanael] up little by little from the earth and causes him no longer to imagine him as merely a man? For one to whom angels minister and on whom angels ascend and descend, how could he be a man? This is why he said, 'You shall see greater things than these.' And to prove this, he introduces the ministry of angels. What he means is something like this: Does this, O Nathanael, seem to you a great matter, and have you for this confessed me to be King of Israel? What then will you say when you see 'angels ascending and descending on me'? He persuades him by these words to receive him as Lord also of the angels. For on him as on the king's own son, the royal ministers ascended and descended, once at the season of the crucifixion, again at the time of the resurrection and the ascension, and before this also, when they 'came and ministered to him' (Matthew 4:11). They also ascended and descended when they proclaimed the good news of his birth and cried, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace' (Luke 2:14), when they came to Mary and also when they came to Joseph... Our Lord made the present a proof of the future. After the powers he had already shown, Nathanael would readily believe that much more would follow." (excerpt from the Homilies On the Gospel of John 21.1) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Revelation 21:9-14 comments that twelve ordinary men, including St. Bartholomew, whose feast we celebrate today, are the foundation stones of the Church. Our faith is built on their witness of Jesus’ preaching, miracles, and resurrection. It’s built on their understanding that he was the fulfillment of the Scriptures. It’s built on their proclamation that Jesus is the God who became man in order to save all people from their sins.
This is the foundation on which our own faith rests. Popular philosophies and worldviews might sound more enticing at times, but they lack a true foundation and therefore come and go. But Jesus “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He does not change, and neither do the truths of our faith.
According to tradition, St. Bartholomew preached in India and was martyred there. He and the other apostles gave their lives to ensure that we would have the teachings of Jesus and his bride, the Church, for all time. So build your life on this foundation. Let it guide your decisions and sustain you in hard times. Let it protect you against the temptations that assail you and the confusion that surrounds you. And be confident that this sure foundation will never let you down.
“Jesus, let me never stray from the firm foundation you have given me.” (Meditation on Revelation 21:9-14, n.d.)
Franciscan Media comments that in the New Testament, Bartholomew is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles. Some scholars identify him with Nathanael, a man of Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by Philip. Jesus paid him a great compliment: “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him” (John 1:47b).
Bartholomew or Nathanael? We are confronted again with the fact that we know almost nothing about most of the apostles. Yet the unknown ones were also foundation stones, the 12 pillars of the new Israel whose 12 tribes now encompass the whole earth. Their personalities were secondary—without thereby being demeaned—to their great office of bearing tradition from their firsthand experience, speaking in the name of Jesus, putting the Word Made Flesh into human words for the enlightenment of the world. Their holiness was not an introverted contemplation of their status before God. It was a gift that they had to share with others. The Good News was that all are called to the holiness of being Christ’s members, by the gracious gift of God.
The simple fact is that humanity is totally meaningless unless God is its total concern. Then humanity, made holy with God’s own holiness, becomes the most precious creation of God. (Saint Bartholomew, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler compares the Holy Jerusalem, perfect society descended from God, with utopia we can’t build with our own strength. Nathanael, who questions good coming from the dirt poor, multi-cultural Nazareth, is portrayed as the new Jacob who does not deceive. Friar Jude notes how the separation between God and people is bridged by Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, presents the inspiration of CAC teacher Brian McLaren who shares the power of ongoing discernment, allowing ourselves to be ever drawn by the Holy Spirit into service and action on behalf of others. The Spirit leads us downward. To the bottom, to the place of humility, to the position and posture of service . . . that’s where the Spirit, like water, flows.
If you listen to the Spirit, here’s what will happen to you. It will be late. You will be tired. There will be dishes to do or clothes to pick up or trash to empty. Someone else should have done this, you will think with anger. You will rehearse in your mind the speech you will give them. And then you will think, But I guess they’re just as tired and overworked as I am. So maybe I can help. You won’t do this as a manipulative ploy but as a simple act of service. . . .
There is a prison near you. A hospital. A park or a bridge or an alley where homeless people sleep. . . . There’s a country in great need or a social problem that few people notice. If you listen to the Spirit, you will be drawn toward an opportunity to serve. At first, the thought will frighten or repel you. But when you let the Spirit guide you, it will be a source of great joy—one of the richest blessings of your life. (Rohr, n.d.)
We contemplate the moments of grace when the Spirit has clarified our connection with God and the people we encounter on our journey to the New Jerusalem.
References
Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. (n.d.). OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/082422.html
John, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?45
Meditation on Revelation 21:9-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/24/474168/
Psalms, PSALM 145. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/145?10
Revelation, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/21?9
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/spirit-led-action-2022-08-24/
Saint Bartholomew. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-bartholomew
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Come and See. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug24a
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