Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

Today's Mass Readings

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas, an apostle. Hence our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles provides us with a description of Barnabas. The first thing we hear about him is that he had been sent to Antioch. There he celebrated the growth of the church, and he is described as “a good man” (Acts 11:24). Barnabas is further depicted as chosen by the Holy Spirit to do specific work. If we stopped there with our picture of him, Barnabas would already strike an impressive picture. He is a good man, chosen by the Holy Spirit. But what exactly does “good” mean here, and what is the significance in being chosen by the Spirit? It’s worth noting that Barnabas is not simply a good man, but rather, he is a good man, “filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith” (Acts 11:24). For in the Christian understanding, to be good means more than just to live a so-called “ethical” or “moral” life. To be a good man means to be HOLY. St. Barnabas is not simply good, ethical, and a hard worker. Rather filled with the Spirit and chosen by the Spirit. He accepts his calling of teaching and prophecy despite its challenges. The end of today’s reading lets us understand that Barnabas started his new assignment after he had completed his fasting and prayer (13:3). In generic moral terms, fasting and prayer have little significance. But in Christian terms, fasting and prayer are part of becoming holy; they help to prepare us to do ministry and to live Christian moral and holy lives.

Today’s gospel passage from Matthew reveals a similar theme. Here Jesus continues to challenge his disciples (and us!). He tells us that we cannot simply follow the ten commandments; instead, we must move beyond them. Of course it is wrong to kill, but it is also wrong to be angry and rude to our brother. Jesus makes a comparison with the scribes and Pharisees, who he sees as overly focused on the moral rules. Note that Jesus is not overthrowing these moral rules, but trying to move from a mere code of ethics to a spirit of holiness.

Hence when we hear Jesus’ final warning of judgment, with trial and punishment, we can see that Jesus is pointing out that those who live by the letter of the law also will be punished according to that law. This in itself is a kind of ethics, but it is not Christian holiness. In the case described, holiness requires us to seek reconciliation rather than turn to law enforcement. But again, it is not that Jesus is overturning of questioning the law; he is calling his disciples to live beyond the prescripts of the law. He is calling them to live holy lives and not merely legal or moral lives.

This is a tough message for us to hear. It’s relatively easy to follow our country’s laws. And in general, it is easy not to break the “letter of the law” of the ten commandments. It is harder, however, to abide by the spirit of those laws. It is easy not to kill our brother, but it is hard not to get angry. If we take this gospel passage seriously, we are bound to see ourselves as failures. For no matter how hard we try, we will find that we sometimes get angry, say rude things to people, or perpetuate misunderstandings and disagreements. But if we take St. Barnabas and the other saints as our examples, we will also be inspired by knowing our potential for holiness.

Barnabas did not become holy all by himself, and neither do we. Like Barnabas, we have a community to help us: like Barnabas, we can rejoice in the holiness we witness in our Church. Like Barnabas, we can be filled with the Holy Spirit; we must only be open to that gift. Sometimes, like Barnabas, it will require a little extra prayer and fasting on our part. Like Barnabas, we can be led by our faith. Like Barnabas, we can be holy people who do God’s work in the world.

Today, let us take some time to think over what our lives could be in terms of holiness, not just morality. How could we live in such a way that people would not describe us simply as “good,” but as “good, filled with the Spirit and with faith”? Let us hope that, like those in Antioch whom Barnabas visited, we may be identified as Christians because of the holiness of our lives.

-Maria Morrow