A GOOD LEADER
His name means
"son of encouragement."
Barnabas,
a Jew of Cyprus whom the Church honors today, comes as close as anyone outside
the Twelve to being a full-fledged Apostle. He was closely associated with St.
Paul (he introduced Paul to Peter and the other Apostles) and served as a kind
of mediator between the former persecutor and the still suspicious Jewish
Christians.
When
a Christian community developed in Antioch, Barnabas was sent as the official
representative of the Church of Jerusalem to incorporate them into the fold. He
and Paul instructed in Antioch for a year, after which they took relief
contributions to Jerusalem.
Later,
Paul and Barnabas, now clearly seen as charismatic leaders, were sent by
Antioch officials to preach to the Gentiles. Enormous success crowned their
efforts. People started to worship them but the two said, "We are of the
same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you Good News that you should
turn from these idols to the living God" (Acts 14: 15).
But
all was not peaceful. They were expelled from the town and had to go to
Jerusalem to clear up the ever-recurring controversy about circumcision. In
addition, even the best of friends can have differences - when Paul wanted to
revisit the places they had already evangelized, Barnabas wanted to take along
John and Mark, his cousin and author of the Gospel, but Paul insisted that
since Mark had deserted them once, he was not fit to take along now. The
disagreement that followed was so sharp that Barnabas and Paul separated;
Barnabas taking Mark to Cyprus and Paul taking Silas to Syria. Later, Paul,
Barnabas, and Mark reconciled.
As
the Holy Spirit filled Barnabas with faith we, too, are filled with that same
faith! We are all called to support one another as mutual members of the Body
of Christ. In today's Gospel, Jesus calls us to live as messengers of Christ's
peace as we proclaim, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Mt. 3: 2).
As baptized Christians, the Holy Spirit empowers us to "cure the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons" (Mt. 10: 8).
There
are so many people of our time who do good work. Love does take the lead over
hatred and evil. Today, may we pray, in our remembering of a leader, for what
Jesus told the disciples long ago,
"Whatever house or city you enter, wish it peace" (cf. Lk. 10:
5 - 8).
In
today's Responsorial Psalm we acclaim," The Lord revealed to the nations
His saving power. All the ends of the earth have seen His salvation for His
people" (Ps. 98: 3).
In
our lives, we embody the message of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Spirit that
empowered Barnabas now leads us to support and encourage one another in faith
and love!