The Rector's Weekly Message

Dear Friends,

On Sunday August 25 we kept the Feast Day of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. Bartholomew is named in the list of the Twelve in all three synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, but we know very little about him. His name does not appear in the Fourth Gospel, though most biblical scholars believe that Nathaniel is Bartholomew. Nathaniel (Bartholomew) appears at the very beginning of John’s Gospel when Jesus is calling his first disciples:

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” John 1:43-51

When I was a boy, I always enjoyed hearing that story because it reminded me of the dour way that many Yorkshire folk spoke, and I particularly loved hearing the reading read by someone with a strong Northern accent, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” After all, I came from the city of Hull, which was often put down as a place to live in Great Britain!

Nathaniel also appears at the end of the Gospel of John when Peter, Thomas, James, and John all go fishing with him following, and the Resurrected Jesus appears on the beach and then cooks them all breakfast.

We have an image of Bartholomew on our reredos and you may think that he has a cloak over his arm and shoulder. In actual fact, it is the symbol of his martyrdom – his skin – because tradition says that he was flayed alive. Tradition as early as the Fourth Century also says that, like Saint Thomas, Bartholomew went on a missionary journey to India, but then went on to Armenia, where he is still venerated as their patron saint. However, some scholars feel that the ‘India’ of the great historian Eusebius is, in actual fact, more likely to be North Africa.

We pray for our neighbor, St. Bart’s, as they celebrate their Patronal Feast Day, and pray that we will carry the gospel in some small way to all whom we shall meet this week.

Now for a ‘geeky fact’ – in the New English Hymnal there is a hymn for Saint Bartholomew’s Day that is an acrostic of his name:

S aints of God! Lo, Jesu’s people
A ge to age your glory tell;
I n His Name for us ye labored,
N ow in bless eternal dwell.

Twelve poor men, by Christ anointed,
B raved the rich, the wise, the great,
A ll the world counts dear rejecting,
R apt in their apostolate.

T hus the earth their death-wounds purchased,
H allowed by the blood therefrom,
O n her bosom bore the nations,
L aved, illumined—Christendom.

O n this feast, almighty Father,
M ay we praise Thee with the Son,
E vermore His love confessing,
W ho from Both with Both is One.

Last Wednesday, we had a lovely afternoon tea in Andrew Hall for our seniors. Rodrigo Rosas and Chef Anderson produces tiers of elegant sandwiches, pastries, scones with home-made strawberry jam, and Devonshire clotted cream. It was a fun afternoon; we celebrated a number of birthdays, and everyone put their name in a hat for some special gifts which were raffled. The next seniors’ lunch will be held on Wednesday, October 22, following the 12 p.m. mass. If you are aged 65 or older and a parishioner of Saint Thomas and would like to join us, please contact Linda Morfi.

Affectionately,
Your Priest and Pastor,
Carl