Brief Background:

Saint Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and is traditionally identified with Nathanael in John’s Gospel. Philip brought him to Jesus, where Jesus praised him as a man with “no duplicity.” Tradition holds that after the Resurrection, Bartholomew preached the Gospel in various regions, possibly including Armenia and India. He eventually suffered martyrdom for his faith and is traditionally believed to have been flayed alive.

Patron saint of: tanners, leatherworkers, bookbinders, plasterers, and those suffering from skin or neurological diseases.

REFLECTION:

Yesterday, I was at the Kauai airport with a group of administrators from other Hawai‘i Catholic schools. We had just finished a wonderful Hawai‘i Catholic Schools pastors and administrators retreat. We were there from Thursday evening until Sunday afternoon, so by then, I think everybody was ready to go home.

I was walking toward the gate, getting ready to board my flight. There were plenty of people waiting around, and as I’m standing there, suddenly I hear these tiny, squeaky voices: “That’s Father Ace! Father Ace! Father Ace!”

I started looking around. Where is that coming from? And then I saw four little faces waving at me. They were students from our Maryknoll grade school. They had been on Kauai for a swim competition and happened to be flying home on the same flight. And I thought about that moment when I read today’s Gospel. Because in that crowded airport, with all those people around us, they recognized me. They knew who I was. They called me by name.

There is something about hearing your name called in a crowd. You immediately turn around. Unless, of course, you’re a student and it’s your teacher calling your name because you did something wrong. Then suddenly you didn’t hear anything! But our name is important because our name is connected to our identity. To be called by name means, “I know you. I recognize you. I see you.” And that is what happens to Nathanael, whom tradition identifies with Saint Bartholomew, whose feast we celebrate today.

Philip tells him about Jesus, and Nathanael is skeptical: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” But when he finally meets Jesus, Jesus already knows something about him. Nathanael is surprised and asks, “How do you know me?” Jesus answers, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

I love that line: “I saw you.”

Before Nathanael saw Jesus, Jesus saw Nathanael. Before Nathanael knew Jesus, Jesus knew him. Before Nathanael decided to follow Jesus, Jesus already knew his name, his heart, and what he could become. And look at what he became.

Our first reading from Revelation describes the heavenly Jerusalem. Its walls have twelve foundation stones, and on those stones are written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. One of those names is Bartholomew.

Think about that. He begins in the Gospel asking, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” And eventually his name is written on the foundation of the heavenly city.

Maybe that is the invitation for us today. We sometimes wonder: Does God notice me? Does God see what I’m going through? Does God know what I’m trying to do? Does God know where I am? And Jesus says to us what he said to Nathanael: “I saw you.”

I saw you before anyone applauded you. I saw you when nobody noticed the good you were doing. I saw you when you struggled. I saw you when you questioned. I know you.

Yesterday, four little voices in a crowded airport called out, “Father Ace!” And naturally, I turned around because someone knew my name.

Today, perhaps the challenge is to listen for another voice calling our name—the voice of Christ. Because God already sees us. God already knows our name.

The question is: When he calls our name, will we turn around? And like Bartholomew, will we follow him closely enough that our name becomes part of the story God is still writing?