Homily For The Feast of St. Bartholomew 2025
I have been asked on occasion why we have feast days - why do we celebrate lives like St. Bartholomew? The Church has always had an appreciation for the martyrs and apostles. The problem of medieval Catholicism was its veneration of the saints as mediators of grace to the average Christian. The corrective is not to abolish the celebration of feast days but a proper orientation toward the early Church’s purpose. On this feast we celebrate the grace of God, God’s grace working through sinful men accomplishing His purposes in this world. Truly, we call to mind the faithfulness of God who never fails, is never frustrated by the weakness of men. The celebration of the feast of St. Bart is about the seeking love of Jesus who transforms and sanctifies men and women and makes them useful to the kingdom of God. It reminds us that our hope and peace rests in God’s work in and through us.
Look at the prayer for today what is also called our collect - it is directed to God not to St. Bart. We read, “O Almighty and everlasting God.” Notice also how the nature of grace is communicated and why - God gave Bart grace so that he might believe and preach thy Word. The remainder of the prayer has to do with a humble request that we might share with St. Bart in loving belief in the Word and that we might receive it as he did and preach it in a similar manner.
So what do we know about St. Bartholomew? We really don’t know much from the Gospel record other than a bare mention in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) of his name. St. John never mentions Bart, while speaking often of Nathaniel; the other Gospel writers mention Bart and never take notice of Nathanael. It is this reason that many scholars believe that Bart and Nathanael are one in the same.
In St. John’s Gospel, we read the account of St. Philip bringing Bart to Jesus Christ. St. Phillip told him that they had found the true Messiah - Jesus of Nazareth. Bart was not impressed by Our Lord’s hometown as it was located in the backwater of Galilee. Yet, when St. Bart meets Jesus and catches a glimpse of Our Lord’s divine knowledge, he casts away his former prejudices and declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the King of Israel. In the process, Jesus Christ discerned that Bart was truly an Israelite in whom there was no guile. He was a man of profound simplicity and integrity.
St. Bart’s character was the sort that would have won praise in today’s Gospel, which is found in Luke 22. For context, earlier in this Chapter, we have St. Luke’s account of the Last Supper - Judas has left to betray Jesus and Our Lord institutes the sacrament of Holy Communion. As he finishes up the teaching on the Sacrament, as he completes his declaration of his self-giving love, strife is stirred up among the Apostles.
They were eager to secure their proper place in the kingdom their Lord was going to establish. On numerous occasions, the disciples missed our Lord’s over teaching on his suffering, death and resurrection. These facts that he repeated on several occasions were the basis of the greatness of his kingdom - a true testimony to the durability of the Kingdom established by the Eternal Son of God. It is through humility, it is through cleansing, typified, manifested in the foot washing on that Maundy Thursday. These revealed the nature of his kingdom - not wrestling, posturing, positioning as if it were an earthly kingdom, but taking the very same yoke of the master on the shoulders of the servant. Jesus redirects them to this spiritual reality - St. Luke records: “And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.”
In our Lord’s kingdom, greatness is not achieved by exercising Lordship over another - like the Gentile powers. Rubbing their faces in their defeat as it were. Instead, the greatest in Our Lord’s kingdom is the one who having authority, having status, deliberately chooses to cast it away so that he might serve another, like Jesus has so served the fallen human race. It is a radical departure from the way in which this present world’s system functions. Yet, Jesus says it is a mark of the Kingdom when one knows one’s “rights” but casts them aside so as to direct others to the saving power of Christ, to the redemptive work of God for sinners. That’s why Jesus says, “I am among you as he that serveth.” The true Lord, the true Ruler, willingly, deliberately, cast aside his divine royalty to serve so that he might redeem mankind, proving greatness in the Kingdom of God is found in radical self-sacrifice. Truly, they all had abided with him in his temptations. Not that they endured the fulness of Satan’s mechanizations, as in fasting in the Wilderness.
Rather, they had the grace to hold fast to the Messiah even as he came to them in lowliness; even as they clinged to him as he undercut the mainline expectation of the Jews about their messiah - assumptions, wrongheaded hopes that were so valued by the Israelites. The Israelites expected a conquering political figure, not a lowly servant who would die in their place. In coming in lowliness, Jesus cast aside all worldly praise and honor. At a later date, after the suffering and resurrection, after his return to them and his ascension, Jesus would be crowned with visible glory and majesty and they would in some fashion share in His glory.
The Apostles - the 11 that remained, for Judas had departed, would be appointed a kingdom. All, regardless of the amount of testimony from the Holy Scripture about their lives, their ministry, would share in their inheritance as sitting on one of the thrones for each of the tribes of Israel. Glory would await them just as Jesus passed through humiliation into the most glorious resurrection.
In the culmination of Christ's kingdom, all of them would eat and drink at his table in our Lord’s kingdom and would sit on thrones judging the people of God. They would be at the greatest feast in all of history; with places of prominence appropriate to God’s calls on their lives. It is as though Jesus is saying, there is plenty of glory to go around - there is no need to compete - to seek glory on one’s own terms. But glory and the fulness of the kingdom comes later - for Jesus called them to participate in their present circumstances as mirrors of the humiliation of Christ, the meekness of Our Lord so that through their suffering, their witness, men and women would be drawn into the Kingdom of God. Exaltation only comes after the Christian walks in the path of joyful suffering established by Our Lord.
Notice that Jesus says that he has appointed unto them a kingdom.
Divine appointments in the kingdom of God are such as St. Paul reminds the Philippians - For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Belief in Jesus, installation into apostolic office for these men meant that they would not only acknowledge him as Lord but suffer for their convictions.
After Pentecost and the dispersion of the Apostles, tradition tells us that St. Bart traveled throughout Asia where he ultimately settled in present-day Armenia. He proclaimed the Gospel to locals who had embraced the idolatry of that region. The local governor disapproved of his evangelism and ordered that he be flayed alive and then crucified upside down. Although his pain was excruciating, St. Bartholomew maintained a cheerful countenance and encouraged the Christian converts until the very end. We are reminded this morning of the cost of discipleship. St. Bart held fast. To him it was appointed to suffer death for the Gospel.
He was privileged also to be among the first to preach the grace of God toward mankind. He was a man of profound loyalty to the Lord who saved him.
This morning, let us ask the question - how do we join all the saints in showing our ultimate loyalty to Our Lord Jesus Christ? I suggest a few ways this morning - first, we can follow in their footsteps of service and practical helps to God’s people. Loving those in word and deed -to whom Jesus calls the least of these, my brethren. Second, we do so by being mindfully obedient, committed to God’s will in all the areas of our lives - making the smallest details conform to Christ’s character. For loyalty, love to God is known in obedience to His commandments. Jesus says in John 14 “15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.”. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him,
and will manifest myself to him.” If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Three times within the course of chapter - Jesus links love/loyalty to obedience. Third, our loyalty to God is shown through a practical commitment to the expansion of God’s kingdom here on earth. It is to put feet on the petition - thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our Book of Common Prayer, in the Office of Instruction, asks a person preparing for confirmation “What is your bounden duty as a member of the Church?” Answer: My bounden duty is to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in his Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of his kingdom.”
This morning, let us walk in the footsteps of those who came before us, like St. Bart and the other Apostles, our fathers in the faith, and follow Christ, commit to making Sunday a day devoted to the public worship of Christ and showing loyalty to the true king by working and praying and giving for the spread of His Kingdom. Amen.
