Commentary
Saturday, 8/24/2019, Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle
The Bride of the Lamb
First Reading Commentary: Revelation 21:9-14
In Revelation, John was shown the holy city of Jerusalem coming down from heaven with God’s splendor radiating like a precious stone, clear as crystal. It had a massive high wall with twelve gates, three on each of the four sides, with the names of the twelve tribes inscribed on them and an angel at each gate. The wall had twelve courses of stones as its foundation with the names of the twelve Apostles inscribed on them.
This does not sound like a description of a bride. It sounds more like a description of the New Jerusalem and in fact, it is a partial description of the New Jerusalem. But if you take a close look at this description, you will see the bride.
The final conflict between Christ and the beast is after the thousand-year reign in Revelation 20. At that time, all of the souls whose names are written in the book of life will be in the Kingdom. They are represented by the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel on the gates and the names of the twelve Apostles, who are the foundation of the church, on the stones of the foundation.
When you multiply the names of the tribes and the Apostles and the thousand-year reign, you get the number 144,000 which represents completeness. The bride of the Lamb is composed of everyone who is in communion with God and therefore, what John sees in this vision is not only the New Jerusalem but the bride within.
Some of us will be ready to enter the Kingdom as soon as we leave this life. Some of us will die in a state of venial (minor) sin and will need purging and cleansing in purgatory before we can enter the Kingdom. But when this chapter of Revelation comes to fulfillment, those whose names are included in the book of life, will all be members of the bride in heaven.
Keep an Open Mind and Heart
Gospel Commentary: John 1:45-51
When Philip told Nathanael that the one who Moses wrote about in the law was found and that it was Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth, Nathanael said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Nathanael obviously did not think much about Nazareth to ask such a question which was a prejudgment of Jesus and yet he became one of the Twelve. Why? We have to understand what prejudice is and where it comes from. It is a very normal human reaction. It is human nature to have negative feelings toward something which we do not know or understand. In self-defense, we put our guard up until we know otherwise. We tend to fear whatever we do not understand. But once we get to know better, we open up.
People often make the mistake of thinking of prejudice, bigotry and racism as the same thing. They are not! Bigotry and racism come from a very deliberate choice to hate. Prejudice is nothing more than putting up your guard against something that you do not understand. Very different and we all have it. We may have overcome our prejudices against people, but we all have a prejudice against something. Anyone with an open mind who is willing to listen will overcome any prejudices they may have. That is something which a bigot or a racist will never do because of their choice to hate. This was not true for Nathanael.
Nathanael went with Philip and when Jesus saw him coming, he said, “Hear is a true child of Israel.” Nathanael asked, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
The term “under the fig tree” is a symbol for messianic peace. Therefore, Nathanael was a man of faith and he was at peace with his faith. Jesus was telling Nathanael that He knew this even before his brother Philip called him. This broke down Nathanael’s guard and he immediately knew who Jesus was. Jesus knows everything about each of us which is why we must be honest and sincere when we go to Confession. We might fool the priest but we cannot fool Jesus.
Then Jesus asked Nathanael, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?” Jesus was making a point with this question. It is never wise to prejudge God and He does not have to prove Himself to us. In life, it is never wise to prejudge at all in spite of the fact that we all do.
What Jesus says next; points to today’s first reading from; Revelation. Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
According to John’s gospel, Nathanael is the fifth disciple of the original twelve and right away, Jesus promises him the Kingdom. Such was the faith of Nathanael but even he had to see Jesus before he would let go of his prejudice and believe Philip.
All of the Apostles are saints for us to pray to for intercession but I think that Nathanael, who was called Bartholomew, is a special saint to call on when we are challenged with fear from ignorance (prejudice). Because of the lesson learned when Bartholomew met Jesus, he is one of the saints who, is a perfect example of how much we can be rewarded by what we learn if we keep our minds open and are willing to listen. He is a perfect example of how quickly and easily we can be rewarded with God’s peace and love and eternal life with God in the Kingdom if we keep our hearts open to Him.
