The first reading from this Tuesday’s daily Mass:
Acts 11:19-26
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but Jews. 20 There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. 21 The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas [to go] to Antioch. 23 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, 24 for he was a good man, filled with the holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord. 25 Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 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.
This is another slice of Acts we never hear read on a Sunday, so if we are not daily Mass-goers or never open our Bibles on our own, we never hear it at all. A few notes:
- Persecution is meant to stop the spread of the Good News. However, God can use persecution to seed evangelization. People fleeing persecution in one place, take and spread the faith to other places. For us: if one door appears shut, look for another, but let nothing stop our walk toward Him, inviting others to join us as we go.
2. The value of Barnabas in the earliest days of the Church should not be underestimated. He brought Paul back to Jerusalem, where Paul had persecuted the early Church, helping to bring Paul into the fold of leadership in the founding community of faith. Now, he retrieves Paul from Paul’s old home town of Tarsus, where he had retreated, and works with him in the burgeoning Greek-based community in Antioch, further legitimizing both Paul and the outreach to Gentiles. Simply consider how much of the New Testament is from Paul, and we realize that without this effort by Barnabas, Paul’s ministry may not have looked anything like what we see actually happened. For us: we do not have to be “official” or “key leaders” in the parish to be doing essential work for the Lord. We just have to do as He guides us to be building the Kingdom as He wants it built.
3. If we read ahead in Acts 13:13 we see Barnabas and Paul split over a personnel question. But this does not stop efforts at widening evangelization around the Empire. Instead of one Paul and Barnabas group going out to preach the Gospel, we end up with two groups going out. God can see to it that even disagreements among Christians of good will can have good effects. For us: we can’t always agree with decisions of others in our parish, group, or ministry. We can always be full of good will towards those deciders. God will not waste good will–He will find a way to put it to good use!
Paul owes a lot to Barnabas, and from references in Paul’s letters it appears that eventually all their differences seem to have been worked out. God is not afraid to write straight with crooked lines.
Your thoughts, comments, questions welcomed. Leave a reply or email me direct (see “ABOUT” above).