The Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls which were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, "Come here. I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; having a great and high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the east were three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
All your works will give thanks to you, Lord. Your saints will extol you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk about your power.
To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, the glory of the majesty of his kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words, and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works. The Lord is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"
Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"
Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!"
Jesus answered him, "Because I told you, 'I saw you underneath the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these!" He said to him, "Most certainly, I tell you all, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Bartholomew the Apostle — known in John's Gospel by his other name, Nathanael — is one of those figures who enters Scripture with a skeptical remark and leaves it transformed. That arc is worth sitting with today.
Notice how the encounter begins not with Nathanael seeking Jesus, but with Philip finding Nathanael. Someone came looking for him first. And Nathanael's initial response is almost comically blunt: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" There's an honesty in that skepticism — no performance, no polished religiosity. Just a man saying what he actually thinks. And yet Jesus doesn't rebuke him for it. Instead, he honors it: "Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no deceit." The very frankness that might seem like a barrier turns out to be a kind of readiness.
Then comes the moment that cracks Nathanael open. Jesus says simply: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." We don't know what Nathanael was doing there — praying, grieving, just thinking. But whatever it was, it was private. Known only to him. And suddenly it is known to Jesus too. That's what breaks through. Not an argument. Not a miracle. Just the quiet recognition that someone had already seen him, fully, before he even knew to look up.
This is what the first reading points toward — the New Jerusalem with twelve foundations bearing the names of the apostles. These are ordinary people, skeptics and fishermen, who said yes to being seen. The city of God is built on that kind of surrender.
The question for us today is whether we're willing to be seen in our ordinary, unguarded moments — not just the ones we'd choose to present.
- Where are we, right now, under our own fig tree — and what might we be avoiding bringing into the light? - What would it mean to respond to an invitation with "come and see" rather than a verdict already formed? - Who in our lives might be waiting for us to find them first, the way Philip found Nathanael?