“After Barry there was nothing”
Syriac tradition holds that St. Bartholomew’s name was actually Jesus but that he changed it out of respect for his extraordinary leader. Many scholars identify him with Nathaniel in the synoptic gospels. Some say he preached in India, leaving a copy of St Matthew’s Gospel there. Others say he travelled to Armenia, Mesopotamia, Persia or even Egypt. Some say he was beheaded while popular legend claims he was flayed alive and crucified upside-down. Every nation from Armenia and Italy to England lay claim to his relics. He was one of the twelve apostles, he traveled to preach the Gospel and he was martyred….but we have somehow forgotten the real Barry…
My guess is that Barry was just plain humble. “Be careful about not living righteously merely to be seen by people.” He was a man who clearly believed and spread the Good News. He obviously left his mark - there are 165 churches in England named after him - so he was an active witness to his faith to the extent that he gave his life for it. This is all extraordinary but he blends in to the sea of saints.
“Jesus also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income to the poor.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, ‘O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!’ I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”"
The great Augustines and Aquinas’ attract us by their words which bring the Gospel to life but we come to faith not because of beautiful words but because of beautiful acts.
We are called as human beings to enter into a relationship with God. We achieve this through our relationships with others as we come to see the face of God in His children and all of creation. We are called as Christians to witness to this relationship….to respect, honor and cultivate this relationship. We are thus called as human beings to recognise the Divine in our world and as Christians to protect and encourage the vessels. If we mean to proclaim the glory of God from the rooftops we will most likely be greeted with strange glances and silence but if we live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ we draw others towards our natural relationship with God. It’s not a matter of convincing others of the extraordinary. St Augustine said we are restless until we find God and so we are drawn to those who enter fully into this relationship.
St Francis of Assisi once said: “Preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words”. If we are focused on others’ view of us we will lose site of what is true and good.
A friend of mine struggled with his relationship until he asked the question: “Is this person leading me to God?”. This is the ultimate question for our lives and when we follow we, in the words of Nelson Mandela, “let (our) own light shine (and) unconsciously give others permission to do the same”. This great man of our time begins this quote with “You were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within you.” We were born to grow in ourselves, in others and in God but Jesus’ most extraordinary message is that to do so we have to stop standing on street corners telling others how great we are. We should be standing on street corners recognising the Divine in the poor and the marginalised and acting on this recognition.
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 and is filed under The Church.
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Sarah Says:
I think it might have been more acurate to say that “After Barry there was much”. St. Bartholemew was a man who’s belief in spreading the Good News obviously impacted many people. To have 165 churches in one country alone named after one man, he obvously made a difference. So maybe St. Bartholomew didn’t fade into the sea of saints, maybe he is the one who got away.
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Ronan Says:
Sarah,
I agree that Bartholomew made a huge difference. My point however was to stress how St. Bartholomew as a man was forgotten even though he was an extraordinary preacher. The real point here is that he preached the Good News not the gospel of Barry.
The vastness of the sea of saints is also something to note. We often forget some of the most amazing personalities and their messages for each one of us because there were so many others. Each saint has something valuable to say. Some messages resonate more with each of us though.
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:36 pm