Festival of Saint Bartholomew Luke 22:24-30

And there came to be a contention among them, which of them seemed to be the greatest. And (Jesus) said to them, "The kings of the nations lord them and the ones having authority over them are called ‘Good-workers'. Yet you are not so, but the one greatest among you, may he be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant. For who is greatest, the one reclining, or the one serving? Is it not the one reclining? But I Myself, in your midst, am as the one serving. And you, yourselves have stood, remaining with Me in My testings; and such as I confer to you, just as My Father conferred Me a kingdom, that you may eat and drink upon My table in My kingdom, and you will sit upon thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel."  

OK, so I know what y'all are thinking. Just what is St. Bartholomew's day all about? If you've ever heard of St. Bart's, it's as a reference to an exotic Caribbean Isle. But today is the Festival of this seemingly obscure Saint of whom very little is known. What little we do know about him is by his first name, Nathaniel, and even that's not much. So why don't we know a whole lot about St. Bart? Most likely because he did his job well, serving in his work as a humble slave of His Lord Jesus Christ. 

No, St. Bartholomew is no "St. Peter" or "St. Paul" or "St. John". But he was an Apostle who served Jesus' church all the same. We don't know any specifics at all about exactly what he preached, or where he went, or what he did for the church. But it just doesn't matter. Because St. Bart's job wasn't to make a great name for himself. Quite the opposite. His job was to make the name of Jesus the Christ greater. The very fact that we know almost nothing about Bartholomew bodes well for him.

You would prefer to be a "St Peter" or a "St Paul", wouldn't you. Admit it, you want folks to hear you name and think of somebody who's accomplished great things. You want to be thought of as the Greatest. But you can't, since Muhammed Ali has already claimed that title for himself. Actually, it is your rabbi, meaning "my great one", Jesus who is the Greatest of all, as shown by His service to you.

Our worship is a Divine Service because Jesus comes to be your Servant today. He comes to you in the same name He first came to you in your baptism. That day, Jesus came in water & word to wash you from all of your sins at the font. He comes today for the same reason, to cleanse you from your unrighteousness and to forgive your sins, even those of pridefully wanting to be greater than you are. In this way Jesus humbles Himself as the lowest servant washing even your feet to make you holy.

You yourself would also prefer to be the one with the authority. You desire to be the master, not the slave. You'd rather be the boss in charge than the low level employee to be bossed around. Face it, you embrace this world's way of determining greatness. Those with the most power, at the highest level are those who get all the credit for the success. They're labeled "good-workers", being in charge.

But don't be deceived. The one in authority is not the one most blessed. The waiter or waitress who serves you may appear to be "in charge", but you are the one blessed to lean back and eat a fine meal! A simple servant like Bartholomew fed thousands upon thousands with the Gospel word He preached as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus. You are likewise fed, week in and week out, with the message: "Jesus loves you, gave His life for you on the +, that by His death, you now have life!"

You still would rather be the leader than a simple follower. You'd prefer to be outspoken St. Peter taking charge among the 12 than to be a nobody like Bartholomew. Even our own district keeps on foolishly trying to make its pastors into the kind of leaders one finds in the corporate world. But repent of seeking out such leadership, for God has instead called Christians to be servants instead.

Bartholomew preached faithfully of the greatest Servant of all, Jesus. Jesus promised to come as the One Who is serving. He serves you with the greatest gift of all, His holy body given unto death at Calvary, and His precious blood shed for you from the +. He invites you to eat & drink upon His table in His kingdom, brought down from heaven to earth this day, that you eat His body & drink His blood for the forgiveness of your sins. Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life & salvation.  

So on this day, you will not depart singing the praises of St. Bart. Instead, you are blessed to praise, honor & glorify Jesus Christ your Savior from sin, death & the power of the devil.  Because of the humble service of St. Bartholomew and others who have preached Christ-crucified for you, and who have through God's word & sacraments, have forgiven you, saved you, and given you life everlasting.

Hymns from LSB:

#877  God, Who Has Made the Earth and Heaven  stanzas  tune
#583  God Has Spoken by the Prophets  stanzas (click "Christian Worship" on the right)   tune
#518  By All Your Saints in Warfare: Saint Bartholomew  text  tune

1 By all Your saints in warfare,
For all Your saints at rest,
Your holy name, O Jesus,
Forevermore be blest!
For You have won the battle
That they might wear the crown;
And now they shine in glory
Reflected from Your throne.

(for St. Bartholomew, Apostle)

23 All praise for him whose candor
Through all his doubt You saw
When Philip at the fig tree
Disclosed You in the law.
Discern, beneath our surface,
O Lord, what we can be,
That by Your truth made guileless,
Your glory we may see.

3 Then let us praise the Father
And worship God the Son
And sing to God the Spirit,
Eternal Three in One,
Till all the ransomed number
Fall down before the throne,
Ascribing pow'r and glory
And praise to God alone.

Proper 19 1 Timothy 1:12-17

I myself am gracious to the One Who has empowered me–Christ Jesus, our Lord, that faithful, He regards me, established into service; the one before being the blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant one; but I was mercied because of ignorance I acted in unbelief; yet the grace of our Lord over-swelled with faith and God's love–the one in Christ Jesus. Faithful-the word, and worthy of all approval, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of which I myself am the first. But through this I was mercied, so that in me, first, Christ Jesus might show the whole patience, the prototype of those about to believe upon Him unto life eternal. And in the King of the ages, undying, invisible, only God, honor and glory into the ages of ages. Amen.  

The great St. Paul wasn't always so great. Nor was he regarded as a saint. Nor did he even go by the name of Paul. Known by His Jewish name of Saul, he was a prominent pharisee, as upright as any Jew could be, even to the point of persecuting that new sect of Jesus-followers called Christians. He spoke against this so called "Christ", and was given great authority to attack Christians, imprisoning some and having others put to death. He even approved of the stoning of St. Stephen. He was lost.

So how did this poor lost soul known as Saul, ungreat, and unsaintly though he was, become the great St. Paul? Jesus had to come and find him, that's how. On his way to persecute the Christian church in Damascus was where Jesus found him. Jesus stopped Saul in his tracks, blinded Him with a light, wrapping him up like a deuce. Then, when he followed Jesus' instructions to go to Ananias' house, he was baptized, regained his sight, and began using his Roman name of Paul to serve Jesus.

You are not unlike Saul because you too have been arrogant just as he was. You've acted selfishly and stubbornly in your own name. You've done what you alone have wanted to do, not caring what God desires. You have spun things in your own favor to place yourself in better light, even when it casts a shadow on your neighbor's reputation. You have acted as though you mattered most.

You are not unlike Saul aka Paul. For just as He was baptized and began using a new name, you too have been baptized. But not in your church's name, or in your pastor's name, or even in your own name, but in the Name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. God has given you His Own name at your baptism, making you His very Own dear child. You are adopted into God's household at your baptism, receiving God's Own family name as your own. Your home now is in His heavenly mansion, forever..

You are not so very different from Saul in that your actions have been anything but holy at times. As Saul has blasphemed against Jesus, your words have taken His name in vain, and have dishonored your Savior. As Saul persecuted the Church, so have you misled believers by your wrong-headed opinions and your attempts to mislead others away from how you know Christians are to behave.

Yet you are just like Saul/Paul in that you are declared to be holy despite your unholy thoughts, words and actions. This is because Jesus died on the cross for you just as much as He did for St. Paul. Jesus proclaims that you are forgiven of all your unholy sins, and that He has exchanged them for His Own holy righteousness from the cross of Calvary. His strong word has bespoken you "righteous", so that like St. Paul, you can be called a saint, shining bright with the glory of Jesus' Own holiness as your own!

You aren't dissimilar from Saul who sinned in his great ignorance. You too are ignorant when you act apart from your God-given faith. You wrongly assume it isn't so bad to take the first misstep of a transgression. Then you figure, it isn't so bad if you take just a couple more steps into Satan's dangerous territory as you keep trespassing there. But then you are stuck in sin, dreadfully lost.

But you are very much in the same boat as the great St. Paul, who was found by Jesus when he needed saving the most. Jesus has found you as your Good Shepherd as well, bringing you to the green pastures of the Lord's Supper, where He feeds you with His body given, and gives you to drink of His shed blood for the forgiveness of your sins. He mercied you there just as He once mercied the great St. Paul. Your greatness now is in Christ Jesus, the Word Who dwells in you richly.

So, just as the great St. Paul once was lost, but then was found by Jesus, you too were once lost in your trespasses and sins; but Christ found you and has returned you to His holy sheep-fold. Paul is a prototype of your own salvation, for just as Jesus mercied Him, so has He likewise mercied you! This Word is faithful: Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Through this you are mercied!

Amen.

hymns this week from LSB:
#707  Oh That the Lord would Guide my Ways
#609  Jesus Sinners Doth Receive   stanzas   music
#611  Chief of Sinners though I Be