Today we celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas. Several things of note about our saint of the day.
First, his name is Joseph and he was a jewish convert. Barnabas was a nickname given to him by the early church and the apostles. The nickname means "son of encouragement." Someone who encourages another is someone who empowers the other to remain firm in heart, steadfast.
The nickname speaks to Barnabas' personality; it reveals how he responds to grace in his life. What would our nickname be? How does our personality respond to grace in a particular way? What trait or characteristic would others recognize in us as a fruit of grace in our life?
Secondly, Joseph aka Barnabas was a man who did not hold back. He was prompt and he gave himself completely to the faith. In the Acts of the Apostles 4:37, we discover that upon his conversion to following Christ, Barnabas took his farm sold it and gave the money to the early church by laying it at the feet of the apostles. In poker terms, Barnabas was all in. He did not skirt the fence, he jumped in with both feet, heads over heels, and became a great missionary for the faith. Perhaps today is time for us all to be all in, to no longer skirt the fence.
In today's first reading we encounter Barnabas on one of his journeys.
Barnabas arrives at Antioch and "saw the grace of God."
What a sight to behold, something beautiful for God.
Barnabas rejoiced and encouraged them to all "to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart."
What does the grace of God look like? What did Barnabas see?
We must remember that holiness does not consist in never erring or never sinning or never being wrong. Rather, Holiness consist in an increase capacity for conversion, repentance, willingness to start again, over and over again, increase capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness marked by an increase in charity and mercy for all.
Perhaps this is what Barnabas saw when he spied the grace of God in Antioch.
May we be on the look out for the grace of God in others, and may we also enable those who are on the look out see that grace in us.
scripture for memory
"Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; the Lord has made his salvation known." Psalm 98
Quote of the day
"What the heart does not desire the eyes cannot see."
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