Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

Mid-summer sumac

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,

"Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him."

Although Saint Paul claimed to be the least of the apostles (I Corinthians 15:9), that distinction probably belongs to Saint Bartholomew. We know very little of him. According to some ancient historians, Bartholomew, otherwise known as Nathaniel (see last year’s entry about that) disappeared into “India” and evangelized there. Today he is memorialized in many parishes (as in the Louisville archdiocese) and hospitals, including one of the oldest in the world, in London, England.

According to Saint Mark, the apostles had two important responsibilities: to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message….  When everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere else it is important to remember the singular privilege and duty of being with someone. Showing up may be the most important thing we do every day, after breathing.

As a certified obsessive compulsive I know how hard it is to stop and be with someone. I’ve always got someplace to go and something to do. I’m the fellow who creates a checklist at the beginning of each day and finishes many of them. Fortunately, my work at the hospital affords me the opportunity to slow down and be with anyone who wants my time: patients, families, nurses, housekeepers or other chaplains. Since no one goes to the hospital to see the chaplain, I don’t worry if I don’t accomplish very much.

To be with someone is to listen to that person, to show her the singular honor of your attention. Often, with my tin ears, I can barely hear over the clatter of the hospital; and I don’t know what they’re talking about. So it’s better not to talk; but I pay rapt attention and that counts for something.

This much we know about Saint Bartholomew: he was with Jesus. And what a privilege that was. When he went out to proclaim the message, he disappeared into history; but he remains in the mind of God as his name remains in the fond memory of the Church. Who could ask for anything more?