St Bartholomew

Sermon preached at Congregational Evensong at 6.30pm at St Alphege, Solihull
Sunday 24th August 2008 - Trinity 14
Readings: Deuteronomy 18: 15-19 Matthew 10: 1-22

Today, 24th August, is the day when the Western Church remembers Saint Bartholomew one of the apostles. Bartholomew is mentioned four times in the New Testament. Each time he is mentioned it is because the writer is listing the names of the twelve apostles. His name usually comes next to Philip name. And the truth is that we do not know very much more about him, although there are a number of rumours that we receive from some of the less authoritive early Church traditions and writings.
For example, there is some speculation that Bartholomew might be the same person as Nathanael. The speculation arises for two reasons. Firstly because it was Philip who introduced Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:45-51). (You will recall that Jesus saw Nathanael sitting under the fig tree and said of Nathanael, “Here is truly and Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”) Secondly because in John 21 there is a list of apostles, which includes Nathanael (who is not listed elsewhere) but which does not include Bartholomew.
There are several traditions about Bartholomew going on missionary journeys, particularly to India. There are also traditions about his missionary work in Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is the area to the immediate South East of Georgia, much in the news at present. There is a tradition in this area that he was brutally martyred. First flayed (that is skinned alive!) and then crucified upside down. Because of the flaying, St Bartholomew is the patron saint of tanners. In the vast Last Judgement scene in the Sistine Chapel St Bartholomew is shown in a most disturbing way. He is brandishing a knife in one hand and holding his own skin in the other. He has been painted with Michelangelo’s own facial features!
St Bartholomew is also associated with medicine; hence the dedication of St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. He is also associated with miracles whereby things become suddenly and mysteriously either very heavy or very light.
It is not easy to know how much truth lies behind all these stories, but it is clear that Bartholomew has had a considerable impact in Christian culture and tradition. And yet all this comes from an apostle who the gospels never record as doing anything, except just being there. In this week’s Church Times, John Pridmore describes Bartholomew as the “hidden disciple”. Much of what he said and did seems to have had a hidden quality, yet in the long term it has turned out to have a great impact.
Here we have to pause for a moment and remind ourselves that many of the things that have most value in the Christian life, also have a hidden quality about them. Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field (Matt 13). He tells that when we fast or pray or give arms to the poor we should do it in secret (Matt 6) and win a reward in heaven. We should not do these things so that people say how good we are, and if people do praise us on earth then we have already received our reward. Jesus assures us that everything hidden will eventually be made know (Matt 10:26) and St. Paul says that the Lord “will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his reward from God (1 Cor 4:5). Paul always insists that it is our inner prayers and intentions that matter. What we outwardly achieve is less important. This means that we are not wasting time when try to love someone we will never meet, or do something good which no one will hear about.
This is very counter cultural. We live in a television age where only visible things are considered important. The more spectacular something is, the better its chance of being seen on TV. The quiet, ordinary behind the scenes things are not celebrated or valued, but are often ignored. In business or government organizations things that are not objectively quantifiable and measurable tend not to be taken seriously. And the result of forever prioritizing things that can be measured (things like GDP growth or crime rates reduction) is that things that can’t be measured (things like happiness or fulfillment or peace) get de-prioritized.
So let’s take heart from Bartholomew, the hidden apostle. Let’s remember to value things as God values them, not as they might appear on TV or in the papers. Let’s continue with acts of love or honesty that nobody will ever know about. Let’s prepare for the time when all secret things are revealed. Let’s have confidence that we have a reward in heaven, for the good things that we do that are not recognized on earth.