Experiencing God - Barnabas 146

In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord.  The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch. 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, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
Acts of the Apostles

Barnabas, whose feast day falls on June 11, was the disciple most associated with Saint Paul.  The reason for this is because Paul and Barnabas carried out much of their missionary endeavors together, especially in bringing the good news of Christ to the Gentiles.  Antioch, a Gentile community, was the place where the followers of Christ were first called Christians.

To appreciate Barnabas, we have to understand his background.  He was born of a Jewish family in Cypress.  His early years would have been steeped in this rich Jewish tradition, and as a young man moving to Jerusalem, he would have followed faithfully the rituals and traditions of his youth.  At some point, he was drawn to Jesus and His teachings.  Perhaps he was one of the seventy disciples sent by Jesus to proclaim the Kingdom of God, or perhaps he was converted to Christianity after Pentecost.  Regardless, he was a man who desired to share the good news of Christ to anyone who would listen.

In the Biblical commentary, it is said that Barnabas was one of those people who sold his property and contributed the proceeds to the early Church that we read about in Acts.  When Saul (later Paul the Apostle) made his first visit to Jerusalem after his conversion, it was Barnabas who befriended him, stood by him, and had him received by the other apostles. 

When rumors came to the Church in Jerusalem that there had been much success in converting the Greek Gentiles to the Christian faith, it was Barnabas who was sent to check things out.  The fact that the church was moving into unchartered waters by incorporating non-Jews into a predominate Jewish faith tradition was never a problem with Barnabas.  Before his  conversion to Christianity, he would probably have been scandalized at the prospects of Jews and Gentiles praying and breaking bread together around the same table.  But through his great humility, he was willing to let the Spirit lead the Church in ways that he would not have otherwise expected or understood.  Barnabas was instrumental in encouraging the new Gentile believers to stay faithful to their calling and the Gospel.  As a result, the early Church grew in strength and numbers.

The questions that come to mind from this reflection are two:  Are we willing to trust that the Spirit is working in the hearts of others calling them to faith and love, even when it deviates from the ways that are common to our understanding?  Are we willing to let go of our own ideas based on our culture and experience; are we willing to let go of our engrained concepts and images of God to recognize that God can have ways that exceed our limited ways of thinking?

Barnabas learned that God was so much bigger than his own ideas, and this made him a valuable servant.  He was able to let go of the inner boundaries established by his own Jewish roots to participate in the bigger plan, and be instrumental in the life of the early Christian church.