Ugly Oysters Make Beautiful Pearls

St. Bartholomew, Apostle
Apocalypse 21:9-14 | Psalm 144:10-13,17-18 | John 1:45-51


‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael. ‘Can anything good come from that place?’ (John 1:46)

Ouch. That’s even worse than getting good grades at the National University of Singapore, but forever being passed over for desirable jobs in favour of MIT and Stanford graduates. At least the prospective employer is (presumably) hiring the best candidate for the job, not taking the position that “no good engineer ever graduated from NUS”.

Nazareth may have had a seriously disadvantaged reputation in New Testament times, yet Nathanael was able to surmount his initial prejudices and acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, when presented with proof that He saw him in his private moments, from (we assume) a great distance away. Mother Church traditionally considers Nathanael to be the personal name of the apostle Bartholomew, whose feast we celebrate today, so clearly the “rabbi from the sticks” had a salutary effect on this skeptic.

 

Today’s Gospel encourages us to remember that our lives begin anew with each day, that no matter where we come from or how many sins we’ve committed thus far, we can always set ourselves aright and take positive steps towards loving holiness.

We’re also encouraged to give others around us the same benefit of the doubt, especially to those who don’t look like us or hail from the same home town, or are know to have a chequered past. After all, we have to look past the ugly shells of oysters to find the pearls of great price.

Perhaps, by discounting the colour of others’ skin and their ancestry, we might also influence them by our love to turn to the same God we do, and isn’t that our mission on this earth?

Amen.

 

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