Feast of
Saint Bartholomew
August 24, 2015 8:30am
Sociologists
who have studied today’s millennial generation have found that these young
adults really value authenticity.
The millennials
are those in their 20s and early 30s.
They tend
to mistrust institutions and they dislike doubletalk and superficiality.
They seek
integrity in the way they live, and they expect integrity or authenticity
especially in those who are in leadership positions.
Well, the
millennials probably would have liked Nathaniel.
I say
this because Jesus says that “There is no
duplicity in him.”
So what
does this mean?
Bartholomew
is honest.
When he
first hears about Jesus, he asks that famous question: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
And then,
after the encounter with Jesus, Bartholomew changes course or changes his mind.
He speaks
of Jesus as “Rabbi,’ and then, “Son of God,” and then “King of Israel.”
So,
Bartholomew does not exhibit a hidden agenda or a closed mind.
He is
straightforward and open to looking at who a person is and what a person says.
These are
good fundamental traits of what we call authenticity.
It does
not mean that we just say whatever is on our mind regardless of how it lands or
whom it offends.
It does
mean that we express what is inside ourselves in a way that is honest and able
to be taken in by others.
Authenticity
does not mean being in someone’s face.
It does
mean that we respect others as persons as much as we respect ourselves.
Authenticity
means that we try to live out of our beliefs and values.
It means we
try to have consistency between our thoughts, words, and actions.
So, Nathaniel
in his response to Jesus leads us to a reflection on authenticity.
In fact,
Jesus lifts him up as an example of that.
