Bear your Cross to Reveal the Life of Christ – St. Bartholomew

Bear the Cross to Reveal the Life of Christ

St. Bartholomew T John 1:43-51

INI

Being a disciple of Jesus is hard work. It’s not as easy as praying the sinner’s prayer. It’s not as easy as going through a confirmation class. It’s not as easy as doing a good deed each day either. Being a disciple of Jesus means dying to yourself. Dying to your ideas of what’s good. Dying to the desire to have God baptize sin. And it means rising with Christ daily, living life to reveal the wounds of Christ through your very own wounds.

Jesus never promises that if we follow Him, that we’ll have an easy life. In fact, He says “whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy oof me (Matt 10:38).” He also says “in the world you will have tribulation.” Yet, He never leaves us without hope, purpose, and direction in our sufferings. He says, “but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

 We never bear our crosses to boast in ourselves. To put on a front that we’re good Christians. Rather, we bear our crosses to reveal the life of Christ to the world. And in fact, each member here at Zion has taken a vow before God to do this – to bear their cross to reveal Christ to the world. Even if that should mean something as terrifying as dying for the sake of Christ. Here’s how it’s asked in the rite of confirmation – “Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?” and if asking once isn’t enough, the next question is – “Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, than fall away from it?”

That’s a serious vow. It’s a vow that says you will die for the sake of Christ, but even harder, you will live for the sake of Christ. That is, you will bear each cross you’re given, to reveal the life of Jesus.

Today marks the feast day of St. Bartholomew, who was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. Now, his name – Bartholomew – comes from the Aramaic word meaning “son of Talmay’ – which is his father’s name. But we hear from John’s Gospel that his first name was Nathanael. Early on in the Gospel, Phillip had found Nathanael and told him that they’d discovered the Messiah – and that it was Jesus of Nazareth. Being shocked that such an important figure wasn’t from a more important place like Jerusalem, Nathanael said “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

When Jesus met Nathanael, He praised him! He said – “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael questioned that remark. He said “How do you know me?” And Jesus said that before Phillip had gone to him, Jesus saw Nathanael under a fig tree. There was no way that Jesus would’ve known Nathanael was there and what he was doing. Realizing this, Nathanael exclaimed – “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! The King of Israel!” Such a great confession from such a little act! Then Jesus said – “you will see greater things than these. […] you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

After this account, we don’t really hear from Nathanael, or Bartholomew, if you will. He was present with the other disciples who accompanied Jesus. But after this account, we don’t know much about him. From secular historians at the time, we know that after the Day of Pentecost, Bartholomew took the good news of salvation in Christ to as far as modern day India. Eventually, he ended up in Armenia, where tradition says that he was flayed alive for preaching the Gospel of Jesus. But other than that, we don’t really know much about him. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe the point is less about the messenger, and it’s more about the message. Bartholomew certainly bore his cross, to reveal the life of Christ.

That’s the beauty of his witness and testimony to the church as a whole. And that’s why the epistle reading is so beautiful. Paul wrote – “but we have this treasure in jars of clay” or said in a different translation – “we have this treasure in earthen vessels.” What Paul is saying, is that it’s less about the messenger, and more about the message. This treasure that we have is that God has loved us – so much so that He would send His only Son to live amongst a people who hate Him, hate the truth, and mock, ridicule, beat, and exterminate Him. Yet in this act of salvation, he bore the sin of the world, and covers them with His innocent suffering and death. This is Good News! And it’s worth sharing with the whole world, even if it should mean that God’s messengers bear their crosses, to reveal the love of Christ through His own cross.

And Bartholomew is a great example of faith. He didn’t consider himself so highly that he couldn’t undergo a life of suffering as His Savior did. In humility, he viewed himself as a jar of clay – merely an earthen vessel, through which this treasure of salvation through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection might be shared with all.

In the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, there’s a depiction of the Final Judgment scene on the altar wall of the chapel. It’s really quite a beautiful and hopeful scene. Christ sits on the throne with the saints of heaven surrounding Him, all looking to Christ, as if He really is a beautiful treasure. Right next to Christ on His throne is St. Bartholomew, who is depicted by holding his own skin. It’s quite grotesque, but at the same time, beautiful. And it teaches us about the saints who precede us. Just as the wounds and scars that Jesus bore at His resurrection show God’s love for us, so does the wounds and scars of the saints point to God’s love for us.

Now, it’s not likely we’ll be called to bear a cross like St. Bartholomew. Here, we’re safe and free to worship here in this place – thanks be to God for that! But that just means bearing our crosses looks a bit different. It may even seem silly when we think what crosses we are or aren’t willing to bear when compared to the saints before us. Satan is often more successful here with us than in other parts of the world where lives are at stake. Sometimes it’s a pillow and warm blanket on a Sunday morning, or prioritizing sports over worship, or having a fear of missing out on some event that’s happening to where Sunday worship is sold for pleasure. Or maybe we’re here present in worship, but are really just here for the fellowship with people, but not the forgiveness of sins. Or we’re here present, because we know that’s what we’re supposed to do, but our mind and heart are planning out grocery store visits and calendars for the week. At the time, it may not seem like a big deal. But little by little, Satan chips away at a life lived through Word and Sacrament. How easy do we lay down our crosses?

And then when things DO get tough, we lack good teaching. We lack spiritual food. Or when there’s an opportunity to bear the cross to reveal the life of Christ to someone who lives in darkness, and they bring up an objection about the Christian faith, and we have no response. All we can eek out is “well, Jesus loves you.”

Being flayed alive for Christ is a hard ask – yet we fall for much less.

To bear your cross means praying for what Jesus prayed for in the Garden of Gethsemane, doing as St. Bartholomew and the other disciples did, and living in accordance to the baptismal grace that God calls us into. It means dying to yourself, and living for Christ. It means embodying the richness of the Gospel in your daily life as you live in your families, your communities, and Christ’s Church. This is the vow you have taken for Christ. And in your weakness, he will make you strong – for in your bodies, your earthen vessels, you carry in your body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifest through your bodies.

Bearing the cross is hard work. And when we read accounts of folks like St. Bartholomew, it can even seem scary. Yet, we don’t fear the one who can destroy the body, but the one who can destroy the body and soul. Our flesh is merely an earthen vessel – yet death cannot destroy it. Because our flesh has been redeemed. It has been bought and paid for by the death-defeating resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And so, we gladly bear our crosses as disciples of Christ because we know that there’s nothing in this life that can separate us from the love of God – not life nor death, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation. So, our hope is a living hope, a hope that awaits the resurrection of all flesh.

So, let us bear the cross with Bartholomew and with all the saints – for Christ has borne the cross for us – and the crown of life is yours.

INI