Homily for Saint Barnabas

Most Christians know that Paul and Barnabas were set apart from the other apostles as a team to preach the Good News to the Gentiles, but after we hear about their call to mission, the attention turns to Paul’s life and work. Paul gets a lot of credit, and abuse, and the work of those to whom he was entrusted in enormously understated. After Saul was visited by the Lord on his way to Damascus, he was entrusted to Ananias for years to learn the faith. Paul’s reputation as a zealous persecutor and prosecutor of the Jewish People of the Way was not easily undone. Paul’s past remained in the present and people did not truly know if he could be trusted. His closeness to Ananias could not be disputed because Ananias was trustworthy.

            Likewise, Paul could not stand on his own for mission without Barnabas. Barnabas was an apostle of great stature, ranking up there with the Twelve, and, as a Levite preacher, was probably in Jerusalem before the time of the crucifixion. His family was more than likely related to Saint Mark the Evangelist (Barnabas may have been John Mark’s uncle), and was converted shortly after Pentecost, when he sold his property and devoted the proceeds to the Church. Originally called Joseph, his new name signified that he was “The Son of Consolation.”

            Barnabas stood as a sponsor for Paul in a time when people were slow to believe in the reality of his conversion. Barnabas was probably the first Jew to welcome the conversion of the Gentiles into the church, and his openness to the Holy Spirit was convincing to Paul, who was learning much from the man. Outside of the Apostles, Barnabas was among the most esteemed men of the First Christian generation, and his support of Paul gave him the necessary credentials to further his mission to the Gentiles.

            Barnabas bore the images that Jesus of Nazareth preached – salt of the earth, a city on the hill, a light to the nations. In our faith, we are not always called to be the out-front leaders, like Paul, but we are called to be the consolers, the encouragers, the ones who raise up others, the way Barnabas carried out his mission. His openness to the Spirit, to new ideas, to sharing power and authority, to admitting people to the faith who are not like us, is the type of openness we need now. His fidelity was to the way of Jesus that was validated by God in the Resurrection, and to his philosophy of life that is outlined in the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount, excerpts from which we just read.

            Barnabas was converted just after Pentecost, whose feast was Sunday. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to further open our hearts and minds, our sensitivities and understandings, to give us the capacity to understand better and to have compassion upon a world that needs it. As a Jesuit enterprise, we are called, through the ministry of the Spiritual Exercises, to be open to the Spirit’s Will so that we reach out to the world and into the chaos of those who are outcast, forgotten, not seen, heard or understood, to those who have little or no faith tradition, to our youth, and with compassion for our earth, which is our common home. Let us find a way to support these friends who suffer so that our lives point them to a place of hope, a place of home, a place where God resides, a place deep within our hearts. May we give the world the support that Barnabas gave Paul, a world without judgments, a world filled with mercy, a world filled with compassion, a world that is reconciled to God’s abundant love, and we can sit back and watch the Holy Spirit do the rest.