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Daily Devotion for October 25, 2026

The choir of St. George Chapel, Windsor Castle, England. I think this is my favorite old church, of all the many I have seen in my life, but unfortunately, there is no decent photograph of it available. This tinted engraving by William Pyne, ca. 1819, is the best available. It is the most magnificent example of English “perpendicular” Gothic architecture in the world.

Prayers

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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Amen.

Prayer for God’s Spiritual Gifts

I  bending my knee
In the eye of the Father who created me,
In the eye of the Son who purchased me,
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
In friendship and affection.

Through Thine own Anointed One, O God,
Bestow upon us fullness in our need:
      Love towards God,
      The affection of God,
      The smile of God,
      The wisdom of God,
      The grace of God,
      The fear of God,
      And the will of God

To do on the world of the Three,
As angels and saints do in heaven;
      Each shade and light,
      Each day and night,
      Each time in kindness,
      Give Thou us Thy Spirit.

Amen.

Mason Barge 8/14/2015

Rune Before Prayer, from “Carmina Gadelica,” collection of ancient Scottish prayers

George Washington’s Sunday Prayer

O  most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly, that my prayers are become my sin and stand in need of pardon.

I have heard thy holy word, but with such deadness of spirit that I have been an unprofitable and forgetful hearer, so that, O Lord, tho’ I have done thy work, yet it hath been so negligently that I may rather expect a curse than a blessing from thee.

But, O God, who art rich in mercy and plenteous in redemption, mark not, I beseech thee, what I have done amiss; remember that I am but dust, and remit my transgressions, negligences & ignorances, and cover them all with the absolute obedience of thy dear Son, that those sacrifices which I have offered may be accepted by thee, in and for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered upon the cross for me; for his sake, ease me of the burden of my sins, and give me grace that by the call of the Gospel I may rise from the slumber of sin into the newness of life.

Let me live according to those holy rules which thou hast this day prescribed in thy holy word; and by thy holy word, make me to know what is acceptable in thy sight, and therein to delight, open the eyes of my understanding, and help me thoroughly to examine myself concerning my knowledge, faith and repentance; increase my faith, and direct me to the true object Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life, bless O Lord, all the people of this land, from the highest to the lowest, particularly those whom thou has appointed to rule over us in church & state. continue thy goodness to me this week to come.

These weak petitions I humbly implore thee to hear accept and answer for the sake of thy Dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

from The Prayer Journal of George Washington (verbatim)

Doxology

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Amen.

Paul, Epistle to the Ephesians, 12/11/13

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Our “Virtual Sunday Church” this week takes us to Southwark Cathedral in London.

Scripture

Psalm 145:17-21 (ESV)

John 1:45-51 (ESV)

Jesus Calls Nathanael

hilip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”

Philip said, “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel.”

Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Notes on the Scripture

Today we will look at the apostle whose name heads the “most likely to be left off when you are asked to name the 12 Apostles” list: Nathanael.

Nathanael is mentioned only in the Gospel of John. In the Synoptic Gospels, Philip has a friend named Bartholomew who is called as an apostle, and John never speaks of anyone named Bartholomew, which has led scholars to conclude that they are the same person. But John, the least historical of the Gospels, does not name all twelve apostles, so we cannot be sure. And although Nathanael is the fourth apostle named in John, and his calling is highlighted, John does not necessarily imply that he was the fourth apostle called.

Nathanael under a fig tree.

Nathanael, we will learn later in his only other appearance (John 21:2), was a fisherman from Cana, in Galilee. His friend Philip comes to tell him the remarkable news of Jesus’ appearance. When he hears Jesus is from Nazareth, he is doubly skeptical. One might imagine a New Yorker being told that the Messiah is a man from Newark, New Jersey. Although there are many hints, nobody knows exactly why Nathanael felt so negative towards Nazarenes. It was a backwater and rather a crude place, and there was certainly some worship of false gods there.

He goes to check it out, however, and his mind changes quickly. Jesus characterizes Nathanael as a genuine and honest Israelite, and tells him that he saw him sitting under a fig tree, where Nathanael had in fact been sitting. Today, we might suspect some sort of parlor trick, but apparently it was honest knowledge. Nathanael is convinced. But Jesus minimizes the miraculous nature of knowing about the fig tree; He promises Nathanael that he will see true religious miracles.

And that's about all we know, from the Bible. There is some symbolism involved. The fig tree will later be shown as a symbol for Judaism itself, and specifically the Judaism of the Pharisees. That is, the failing religion of the Jews: Christ will later curse a fig tree outside of Jerusalem, which will then wither. (E.g. Mark 11:12-25.) Nathanael’s name, in Hebrew, means “God has given.” So he does have some importance in the Gospel of John; he is representative of the good, devout Jew; he is the symbol of all the Israelites who have followed the Law and are now ready to accept Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law, to move out from underneath the fig tree.

This characterization is enhanced by Christ’s praise of him, “a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit,” which certainly raises him above most of the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees we encounter. Even such luminaries as Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and Simon the Cyrene, while sympathetic to Christ, hide their sympathies to some degree. But there is no guile in Nathanael; he openly throws in his lot with Jesus immediately.

Later, non-Biblical sources contend that after the resurrection of Christ, Nathanael/Bartholomew traveled to India spreading the Gospel, and was flayed and beheaded by a minor king named “Astyages” in Armenia, directly to the east of modern-day Turkey.

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The Apostle Bartholomew by Rembrandt, ca. 1661. He holds a knife, a symbol of his martyrdom by being skinned alive.
It seems impossible that this extraordinary, modern-looking depiction of Bartholomew was painted in the 17th century: this could be C. S. Lewis in his study.

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