Feast of the Apostle St. Bartholomew

In Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, Jesus stands in the center as judge of the living and the dead. Two martyrs who suffered excruciating deaths are sitting on clouds by Jesus’ feet. St. Lawrence who was roasted to death on a gridiron is on one side; and St. Bartholomew who was skinned alive is on the other side. His own severed skin, complete from head to toe, hangs loosely from his left hand.

How did Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, have the strength not only to give the shirt off his back but even his skin?

The first source of Nathanael’s courage was his friendship with Philip who urged him to “Come and see.” Philip saw “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael came and saw Jesus “The Son of God, King of Israel.”  Each helped the other draw closer to Christ.  Each grew by his friend’s faith.

The second source of Nathanael’s courage was a word of encouragement. Jesus said to him, “Behold, an Israelite, in whom there is no guile.”  Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”  Nathanael received a compliment unlike any other that sustained him over a lifetime.

The third source of Nathanael’s courage was Jesus’ personal awareness and love for him: “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” His encounter with Jesus, whose knowledge of him was so intimate it had to be divine, overwhelmed his skepticism. It was an experience like that of the psalmist who prayed, “O God, you search me and you know me.”  

Friendship, words of encouragement, and Christ’s love gave Bartholomew the courage to endure a martyrdom that still fills us with awe.  

In Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment no one is alone. The saints are helping to lift one another up into the heavens above, while the devils are pulling the damned down into the world of the lost. Like Bartholomew and Philip, may we be friends to one another, and not devils.