While "head knowledge" of Jesus is important, it can never replace an encounter with Jesus Christ and his love of us.
Much emphasis is placed in modern society on knowledge and knowing a great deal of information about people, places, and things.
All a person has to do is ask Google about a particular topic and Google will provide a complete summary that is meant to satisfy any curiosity we may have.
You could even ask Google, "Who is Jesus," and you will receive a succinct answer based on a variety of sources.
Yet, that knowledge is not enough and does not necessarily lead to a deep and abiding faith and trust in Jesus Christ. For that, we need an encounter.
St. Bartholomew's encounter of Jesus
While St. Bartholomew is often silent in the Gospels, most biblical scholars connect him with Nathanael in the Gospel of John. Within that gospel, St. Bartholomew is seen as skeptical of Jesus, thinking that hew knows everything about him.
St. Bartholomew (Nathanael) says, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46)
He bases his entire view of Jesus on what he "knows" about Jesus. It's an easy temptation, especially in the modern world. We can think that we "know" Jesus by everything that we read about him in the Bible or in all the commentaries that are posted on the internet.
However, that is not the full picture.
Pope Benedict XVI explains during a general audience in 2006 that we need an encounter with Jesus:
Nathanael's reaction suggests another thought to us: in our relationship with Jesus we must not be satisfied with words alone. In his answer, Philip offers Nathanael a meaningful invitation: "Come and see!" (Jn 1: 46). Our knowledge of Jesus needs above all a first-hand experience: someone else's testimony is of course important, for normally the whole of our Christian life begins with the proclamation handed down to us by one or more witnesses. However, we ourselves must then be personally involved in a close and deep relationship with Jesus.
Where can we encounter Jesus in our daily life? Jesus is present in a number of ways, as he is always with us. He is present first and foremost in the Eucharist, where we can encounter him in a unique way.
He is also present in the poor and the most vulnerable we encounter. Jesus is present whenever a group of Christians gather and give glory to him.
Jesus is also here, right now, with you, thinking about you and loving you into existence. Our knowledge of Jesus must always go back to the reality that Jesus is a person, a "someone," and not a "something."
May we always remember that Jesus is trying to break into our lives and develop a deep and abiding relationship with us.
