Friday 24th August, 2012
St Bartholomew. DAY OF PENANCE. Apocalypse 21:9–14. Your friends tell the glory of your kingship, Lord—Ps 144(145):10–13, 17–18. John 1:45–51.

  
Meditation: mp3 | podcast
Readings: Text | mp3 | podcast

The Lord is near to all who call upon him; call upon him in truth.

The psalm for today leads into the beautiful story of the first meeting between Jesus and the man we now identify as the apostle Bartholomew. Jesus calls him an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. In other words he compliments this new acquaintance on being in a right relationship with God who is near to all who call upon him in truth.

Throughout the gospels, it is asserted in many ways that the mystery of God’s being will be opened up to those who are pure to their God-given role in life. Let us pray for the kind of integrity that Jesus saw in Bartholomew so that the God who is love will permeate the deepest recesses of our being.