Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle
Sometimes people change but our perceptions and expectations of them don’t change. That makes it difficult on the person who has changed or is trying to change for the better. I have been guilty of this myself. If I am expecting a person to be a certain way, then I may misperceive what they say and how they act to fit my expectation of them. I have been guilty of judging rather than encouraging, holding a grudge rather than forgiving. Obviously that doesn’t allow room for change and growth in a relationship. It seems to me that St. Barnabas (whose memorial is today) and today’s readings have something to teach us about this sort of thing.
Barnabas, although not one of the original twelve apostles, is called an apostle by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles. Apparently he is considered an apostle because he received a special mission from the Holy Spirit, along with the apostle Paul (also called Saul) as we read about in today’s first reading (Acts 11: 21b-26; 13:1-3). We don’t hear a lot about St. Barnabas, but I have read that his original name was Joseph and the other apostles changed his name to Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.”
It seems Barnabas was quite encouraging to Paul as he was the one who defended Paul and convinced Peter and the Christian community that Paul truly was converted and wanted to spread the Gospel. Given that prior to Paul’s conversion he was feared by many for his persecution of Christians, I imagine it was a test of faith and trust initially to accept Paul into their community. Barnabas ended up bringing Paul to Antioch to minister to new Christians there when no one else yet trusted him.
I imagine accepting Paul into the Christian community after widely persecuting them required reconciliation as well, which is what today’s gospel passage is about (Matthew 5: 20-26). Verses 23 and 24 are saying that if I bring my gift to the altar, and there recall that my brother or sister has anything against me, I am to leave my gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with that person, and then come and offer my gift. So, whatever I am bringing/offering to God, not only can wait, but should wait until I have reconciled with whomever I am angry with or is angry with me?! In this gospel, Jesus is instructing his disciples to go deeper than the letter of the law, which says “You shall not kill.” He is teaching them and us to forgive and be reconciled to each other even in our anger.
Then we can freely offer our gifts to God, and our very lives, which will be all the better for doing so. Just imagine if Barnabas had held a grudge against Paul because of his previous persecution of Christians, rather than forgiving him and encouraging him in his new ministry, he would not have allowed the Holy Spirit to work and move through them as a team. Together they brought the gospel to many, many people and ministered to and encouraged new Christians in their faith.
It can be tempting to judge rather than encourage, to remain angry rather than forgive. Today, let us ask through the intersession of St. Barnabas to be reconciled to one another, and encourage each other so that we may allow the Holy Spirit to work through our gifts and the gifts of those we encounter in our daily lives.
Eileen Miller