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“Deliverance of Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas”
by Claude-Guy Halle, c. 1700 |
Readings for the Memorial of St. Barnabas[1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Note: The Gospel on this memorial is from the proper readings of weekday year I.
First Reading: Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3
In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.
Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them."
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.
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Commentary on Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3
The increase of believers outside of Jerusalem may be indirectly attributed to the efforts of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem who drove out many of the Hellenistic Christians in Jerusalem. These pilgrims took their faith with them and planted the seeds of faith in Antioch (and other places within the Roman Empire). To effect consistent catechesis and evangelization, Barnabas was sent to help form this informal community into a center of faith which in its turn launched others to fulfill the mission of Christ in the world.
Barnabas is sent by the body of the apostles to investigate the situation in Antioch and to discover what Paul is doing. Recall, Paul went through his conversion on the road to Damascus and never received guidance or direction from the apostles. The last they knew, St. Paul was still on the “other side.” Barnabas’ journey therefore was, at least until he reached Antioch, tense. Barnabas finds Paul in Antioch and the two of them begin an aggressive evangelical ministry.
In the second section (Ch. 13) we see Barnabas and Saul (St. Paul) sent out from Antioch to spread the Gospel. Saul the convert and Barnabas the apostle were set apart by the Lord for this purpose and strengthened themselves spiritually through prayer and fasting before their journey.
CCC: Acts 13:2 1070; Acts 13:3 699, 2632
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
R. (see 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm. *
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
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Commentary on Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
Psalm 98 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. We see in this selection how God is praised for the strength he lends his people and the salvation he brings to those who are faithful (very much like Psalm 96 in form and structure). Scholars contend that it is much like a warrior’s victory song, where Yahweh is the great warrior-king winning salvation for his chosen people. [4] From our perspective, knowing that he sent us his Son for our salvation, we see clearly the reference to Jesus as God’s saving hand is extended.
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Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
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Commentary on Mt 5:17-19
Those who believed that Jesus came to destroy the Jewish faith and laws are refuted in this passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel. The Lord tells them that he did not come to destroy the law, even though he disagreed with the way some of those laws were being implemented. Rather he came to fulfill it, essentially giving the law a reinterpretation through his own divine revelation.
“Jesus is quite aware that his radical spiritual doctrines, which proclaim the primacy of the interior being of man and seem to fly in the face of the Jewish religious establishment, would lend themselves to abuse and misinterpretation by religious dissenters ̶ those dissatisfied elements who are always looking for more private and non-conformist religious alternative.” [5]
In this early encounter between Jesus’ mission and the Law of Moses, we are told that Jesus came to “fulfill” the law, to bring it to perfection as the Messiah. He supports the rabbinical teaching of the time, which separates the 613 individual precepts of the law found in the Pentateuch into “great and small,” based upon their seriousness, when he refers to breaking the least of the commandments. It is important to understand the Hebrew view of the law: "The law was thought to be the summary of all wisdom-human and divine, the revelation of God himself, a complete and a secure guide of conduct and endowed with a sacramental assurance of good relations with God." [6]
The passage is concluded in almost Mosaic style by saying that those who follow the law will be great in heaven. This draws a distinction between those who would break the law being least in heaven in the previous sentence.
CCC: Mt 5:17-19 577, 592, 1967; Mt 5:17 2053
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Reflection:
St. Barnabas, whose feast day we celebrate today, is a remarkable figure in the history of Christianity. He was not one of the “Twelve” yet like St. Paul, his long-time friend and confederate; bore the title “apostle.” Scripture tells us that he was born on Cyprus and was of the tribe of Levi (Acts 4: 36). Born with the name “John,” the Twelve renamed him Barnabas which means “Son of Encouragement.” He lived up to this name as we hear in the first reading, for when he arrived in Antioch and found a lively Christian community thriving there “he rejoiced and encouraged them all.”
In the latter part of that same account from Acts the church prays over both St. Barnabas and St. Paul and sends them on what we now know was St. Paul’s first missionary journey. And what was their first stop? Cyprus, St. Barnabas’ home of origin.
As we recall the important role St. Barnabas played at the very beginning of our Church, we take away three lessons. First, we give thanks for God’s gift of St. Barnabas. With St. Paul they were the first ones who accepted the Lord’s instruction to take the Gospel to the whole world. As St. Matthew’s Gospel tells us (Matthew 10:7-13), they were not always accepted, but challenged in their work. Yet they were courageous in the face of this opposition.
Next, we see in St. Barnabas one who, like many of those singled out by God for special purposes, like ourselves with no special outward mark that would have caused us to take note of him. Yet, he accepted the mission to which God called him and for which the Church ordained him. His example is one that should inspire us all.
Finally, we see in St. Barnabas the apostolate of encouragement. He spoke out for the faith fearlessly, yes. But he also encouraged those who faced challenges to the faith as his name implies. His encouragement of others is an important mission, one we may all accept as we encourage one another to live a more active faith.
Today we ask St. Barnabas to pray for us that we might accept the portion of that mission that was entrusted to him, and like him, be an encouragement to others.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Deliverance of Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas” by Claude-Guy Halle, c. 1700.
[2] The readings are taken from the New American Bible except for the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio 361/ 580[4] The Word Biblical Commentary, Psalms 51-100, Volume 20 © 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. p.524.[5] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I. Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 211.
[6] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 43:34, p. 70.
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