Friday, August 24th 2018

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

LECTIONARY
629

FIRST READING
RV 21:9B-14

The angel spoke to me, saying,
"Come here.
I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
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 stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
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 names
of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

PSALM
PS 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18

Response: 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.

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.

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.

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."
But Nathanael said to him,
"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
"Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him."
Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."
Nathanael answered him,
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Do you believe
because 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 God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Daily Reflection

24th August 2018

Surely the disciples came to the faith the way we do: over a long period of time, imperfectly, eager at one moment, hesitant the next, hearts full of doubt yet full of hope, a history of broken promises and re-commitment.

In today’s Gospel, we are introduced to Nathaniel (who is also believed to be the Apostle Bartholomew). Invited by Philip to meet Jesus, Nathaniel is sceptical. Jesus is, after all, only the son of a carpenter from Nazareth. But then, through the encounter, Nathaniel experiences the real presence of the Son of God. It is a transforming moment.

While we may not treat Jesus with the same doubt and scepticism expressed by Nathaniel, is it possible that we have allowed our God-encounters to become a matter of routine, with no expectation, without allowing ourselves to be transformed?

The Gospel of today is a timely wake up call to an authentic encounter with Jesus and with others too.