Today is the feast of the apostle, St. Bartholomew. So why is the Gospel from John about Nathanael? Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote and the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” In the list of apostles in Matthew, Mark, and Luke Philip is paired with Bartholomew. Is Nathaniel a different person? A first name? A nickname? We don’t know but I think it says something important. We are an apostolic church, built on the foundational faith of the twelve. Yet we know so little about the apostles — even their names. All of which says while the apostles were absolutely essential their importance was not personal but as vehicles of God’s grace — just like us.
