Feast Of St. Bartholomew Apostle, Martyr

‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ – ST. BARTHOLOMEW

Revelation 21:9-14
Gospel: John 1:45-51

The name Bartholomew comes from the Aramaic which stands for ‘Son of Talmai’ or “son of furrows’ furrow is a long narrow trench made by ploughing for planting seeds. However, very little is known about Bartholomew apart from his being listed among the 12 apostles in the Synoptic Gospels. Many scholars identify him as the Nathanael who came to visit Jesus upon which the Lord revealed himself to him through his thoughts about the Messiah that we see in the first chapter of John’s Gospel. Tradition has it that he preached the faith as far India and Armenia were he was martyred by his torturers who skinned him alive till he died. Heaven is the prize for such a great sacrifice.

All the readings for today’s feast talks about heaven. Heaven is the reward for we that believe in Jesus and we must not lose our focus because it is God that rewards us with eternal life. The first reading (Rev 21:9-14) focuses on the role of the Apostles as the foundation stones upon which God builds the eternal city -the New Jerusalem. In today’s gospel passage, while Bartholomew was seeking spiritual enlightenment under the fig tree, Philip invited him to meet the Messiah from Nazareth. And so he asks, can anything come from Nazareth? In his encounter with Jesus, the Lord praised him for his honesty and faith.After which the Lord himself revealed his thoughts to him, and with that he proclaimed Christ as the Son of God.

The original twelve apostles were not that holy right from the beginning. They were ordinary people. They, too, were afraid of dying – they ran away when Jesus was arrested. They were not fully prepared either when they were first called. Yet as they followed Jesus daily, their relationship with Jesus grew stronger and they did not came to understand fully what He told them – until the Holy Spirit descended upon them. With the Holy Spirit they became more courageous and were willing to step out in faith in order to announce the Good News of the glory of God everywhere even if means shedding their blood.

We, too, are being sent out into the world to proclaim the Good News of Jesus. To be an apostle means to be sent out on a mission. This is our vocation. This is our calling. Are you will to accept God’s call? We are called to be saints and we must carry on the ministry and mission of the Lord and the sacred traditions of those first “apostles.” It may seem like an impossible mission, yet with God, all things are possible.

• [x] PRAY FOR ME AS I CELEBRATE MY BIRTHDAY TODAY. THANKS AND GOD BLESS!!!

Fr Joseph Osho