Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas, one of the Apostles of Christ, and an important messenger of the Lord, although he was not among the Twelve Apostles. St. Barnabas was renowned especially for his works and his mission activities together with St. Paul the Apostle, the other great Apostle who was known for his extensive works to bring the Good News to the Gentiles and pagans.
St. Barnabas was one of the first teachers of the faith, and he preached the Good News to many people since the beginning of the Church, travelling to many places with St. Paul and the other Apostles to bring the teachings of Christ to many people. St. Barnabas was one of the principal workers of the evangelisation, and through him, the early Christian communities were strengthened and empowered.
He went on from place to place, and having been set aside by the Lord, as we witnessed in the first reading today, he brought the message of salvation just as we heard it in the Gospel today. To the people who still live in darkness and the ignorance of the world at that time, the words and preachings of St. Barnabas must have been a refreshing stream of water which enlightens the eyes and minds of the people, and bring them to realisation of the truths in Christ.
He went around many cities, towns and places throughout the Roman Empire, many of the journeys together with St. Paul, and in many places he was welcomed cordially, and the people eagerly welcomed his teachings, and listened to them. There were many who became believers of Christ after they heard the testimony of St. Barnabas and St. Paul, the pair who became the greatest tool of evangelisation of the early Church.
However, as many as there were those who accepted and welcomed St. Barnabas, there were also equally many those who rejected his preachings and his testimonies, if not even more than those who accepted him and St. Paul. And if we read the entirety of the Acts of the Apostles, we can see how difficult it was for these two Apostles, and the other Apostles in general, in carrying out their missions.
There were always those who stubbornly refused to listen to reason, and refused to listen to the word of truth, as spoken by the Apostles, and many of these people were the fanatical Jews and Pharisees who were spread widely in the Jewish Diaspora in the Greek cities, where they often fiercely contested the teachings of the Apostles in the synagogues and among the people, inciting the people to rise up against them.
And eventually, St. Barnabas also met his end in violent death through martyrdom, in the defense of his faith while ministering to the people of God and preaching the faith, commonly agreed to have happened in the island of Cyprus, where his tomb can now be found at. This faithful man of God had dedicated much of his life to the faith and to God, and even though he met his end, but through his works, he brought many people to salvation in God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore we are once again presented with the life of this dedicated saint, who worked hard for the sake of the Lord and His people without fear and full of courage, despite all of the oppositions against him and all the persecutions that he had to endure. St. Barnabas showed us all how to be zealous and faithful servants of the Lord, and his example can indeed help us to find our own purpose in life, as children of God and members of His Church.
Let us ask for the intercession and prayer from St. Barnabas, that he will constantly pray for us, that we may find our way and purpose in this life, and that we may serve the Lord in the way that St. Barnabas himself had done in the past, to proclaim the Lord and His truth to others without fear, and filled with zeal and encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
May God guide our path at all times, and help us to carry out the mission that He has entrusted to all of us, that is to become the modern day Apostles and disciples, to bring the light of God to all peoples of all nations. God bless us all. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 