Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle
In the gospel reading for today, Jesus compares his disciples to the salt of the earth. He warns them not to lose their saltiness. He also compares them to the light of the world, admonishing them not to hide their light under a bushel basket but instead to allow their light to shine before others. This is so that their good deeds will point others to God. Often this passage is taken to mean that Christians must guard against losing their faith or indeed becoming too much like the world. There are of course many places where the scriptures warn Christians against worldliness, but if we interpret Jesus here as simply warning us negatively, we risk not emphasizing the positive aspects of Jesus’ message. As Christians, to let our lights shine is to allow God to be such a part of our lives that our lives become transformed from the inside out. If we have experienced the light of God’s word, Jesus, in our own lives, then we cannot help but to reveal this to others as well.
To be sure, as Christians, we are called to live of holiness, but hopefully we will also take joy in this. As Jesus reminds us in the following passage (Matthew 5: 17), he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. In fact, Jesus calls us not just to change our outward actions, but our hearts as well. We need to be consistent in seeking to do what is right, to serve God and neighbor (and to love God by serving our neighbor). We can allow others to see this as a joyful thing and not as something that we do unwillingly. It should be something that gives us joy and happiness to do.
Just as the light of Christ is beautiful and attractive to us, so too a Christian life should be beautiful and attractive to others. It is important to say that the beauty we are talking about here is not flashiness. That kind of beauty is superficial and often does not speak to the reality of our lives as imperfect human beings. Our goal is a deeper kind of beauty that lies beneath the surface. One way that this beauty is shown is in our willingness as Christians to live for Christ. The Christians whose missionary activity is described in the book of Acts were very enthusiastic about their faith, in part because they were so attracted by the message of Jesus as it was reflected in the lives of those who had already become Christians. Paul and Silas, Stephen, and the numerous others of those first missionaries, disciples, and converts to the faith depicted there, were so inspired by the Spirit that they were willing to risk their lives for the sake of the gospel and to spend their lives proclaiming it to others. We may not think that we have the resources or the courage to do what they did. However, we do have a similar calling. Like them, we are called to share Jesus’ light with those with whom we come into contact in our daily lives.
Let us pray that today, on this feast of St Barnabas, our lives can be made beautiful in our pursuit of Christ’s light. And, in so doing, let us reflect that light and transmit it to others.
- Joel Schickel