June
11
St. Barnabas
Barnabas, a Jew of Cyprus, 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 at 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. After a miracle at Lystra, the people wanted to offer
sacrifice to them as gods—Barnabas being Zeus, and Paul, Hermes—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” (see Acts
14:8-18).
But all was not peaceful. They were expelled from one town, they had to go
to Jerusalem to clear up the ever-recurring controversy about circumcision
and even the best of friends can have differences. When Paul wanted to
revisit the places they had evangelized, Barnabas wanted to take along John
Mark, his cousin, author of the Gospel (April 25), 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, Paul taking Silas to Syria. Later, they were
reconciled—Paul, Barnabas and Mark.
When Paul stood up to Peter for not eating with Gentiles for fear of his
Jewish friends, we learn that “even Barnabas was carried away by their
hypocrisy” (see Galatians 2:1-13).
Story:
Barnabas is mentioned by name as one of the generous members of the idyllic
and extremely poor Church in Jerusalem: "The community of believers was of
one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his
own, but they had everything in common. . . . There was no needy person
among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring
the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they
were distributed to each according to need.
"Thus Joseph, also named by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated 'son
of encouragement.), a Levite, a Cypriot by birth, sold a pieace of property
that he owned, then broguht the moeny and put it at the feet of the
apostles" (Acts 4:32, 34-37).
Comment:
Barnabas is spoken of simply as one who dedicated his life to the Lord. He
was a man "filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. Thereby large numbers were
added to the Lord." Even when he and Paul were expelled from Antioch in
Pisidia (modern-day Turkey), they were "filled with joy and the Holy
Spirit."