Parish Update

Parish Update - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time August 27, 2023 A Note from Fr. Tom Parish Update Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time August 27, 2023 A Note from Fr. Tom On Thursday we celebrated the feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle, Martyr, and Patron of the parish. Very little is known about St. Bartholomew, but he is mentioned in each of the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and always in the presence of Philip. In John’s account of the Gospel, Bartholomew is not mentioned; but whenever Nathanael is mentioned, Philip is also involved. It is really this link with Philip that tells us that Nathanael and Bartholomew are one and the same. Bartholomew, which means “son of Tolmai,” is more than likely Nathanael’s surname. It is Philip who tells Nathanael, “We have found the one Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He’s from Nazareth.” Nazareth was a crossroads in the ancient world, where people of different cultures, beliefs, and practices would pass through. Influenced by foreigners, the Jews in Nazareth were probably not as orthodox in following the Law of Moses, so Nathanael asks incredulously, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip knows that it would be useless to try to convince Nathanael himself, so he simply replies, “Come and see,” echoing the words Jesus used in calling his first two disciples. As soon as Jesus sees Nathanael, he calls him a true child of Israel, a man with no duplicity, and no guile. Since they had never met before, Nathanael asks, “How do you know me?” Jesus replies, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Jesus’ response may be perplexing to us, but not to Nathanael; Nathanael doesn’t hesitate in making a very bold confession: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.” To know that Jesus is the Son of God simply because Jesus says he saw him under a fig tree means that there must be some real significance to Nathanael’s moment under that fig tree. We can imagine that something profound must have happened to Nathanael while under that fig tree. Perhaps he was speaking to God in prayer and received a revelation. Perhaps it was a moment of despair. Perhaps he made a promise to God or reached a conclusion about something in his life. Perhaps he simply sensed the intense presence of God while he was alone in his thoughts. Whatever happened to Nathanael while he was under the fig tree, it was something between him and God alone; something that only he and God knew about. So, when Jesus tells Nathanael that he had seen him under the fig tree before Philip called him, Jesus is saying, “Before Philip called you, I called you—under the fig tree, remember? It was I who was with you when you were alone with God under the fig tree. I know you are a man without guile because I know everything about you; I created you.” Since whatever happened under the fig tree was between Nathanael and God alone, that Jesus knows about it means that Jesus must be the Son of God—God himself. We all have “fig tree moments”: moments in our life when we feel a real and personal connection to God, when something so intimate and personal is exchanged between God and us alone. These fig tree moments may be fleeting and few and far between; but in these moments, God is calling us to himself as surely as he called Nathanael under the fig tree. May we respond to God’s call with Nathanael’s simple profession of faith: “Jesus, you are the Son of God.” St. Bartholomew, Apostle, Martyr, and Patron, pray for us. God bless you, Fr. Tom