Saturday 11 June 2022 Saint Barnabas Week 10 in Ordinary Time
Acts 11:21-26,13:1-3
A great number believed and were converted to the Lord. The church in Jerusalem heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and he urged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with heartfelt devotion; for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were won over to the Lord. Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’ In the church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. One day while they were offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.’ So it was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
Psalm 97 The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Annunzierò ai fratelli la salvezza del Signore.
Matthew 10:7-13
Jesus said to his apostles, ‘As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep. ‘Whatever town or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you.’
+ Dal Vangelo secondo Matteo
In quel tempo, disse Gesù ai suoi apostoli: «Strada facendo, predicate, dicendo che il regno dei cieli è vicino. Guarite gli infermi, risuscitate i morti, purificate i lebbrosi, scacciate i demòni. Gratuitamente avete ricevuto, gratuitamente date. Non procuratevi oro né argento né denaro nelle vostre cinture, né sacca da viaggio, né due tuniche, né sandali, né bastone, perché chi lavora ha diritto al suo nutrimento. In qualunque città o villaggio entriate, domandate chi là sia degno e rimanetevi finché non sarete partiti. Entrando nella casa, rivolgetele il saluto. Se quella casa ne è degna, la vostra pace scenda su di essa; ma se non ne è degna, la vostra pace ritorni a voi».
Parola del Signore
Reflection:
St. Barnabas according to Apostolic traditions was a Jew who lived and hailed from Cyprus, one of the Jews living in the diaspora. Acts 4:36 says he was a Levite named Joseph. Barnabas was a name that was given him by the apostles. It means Son of Encouragement, which tells us something about him and how he was seen by the other early Christians. In the Acts of the Apostles, he is described as “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith”. He was generous and shared what he had with the other apostles, we are told, “He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” Barnabas and Paul undertook missionary journeys together and it was Barnabas who brought Paul into the early church, sponsoring him after his conversion. In the Jerusalem Council’s letter to the Gentiles, in Acts 15:25, we read, “Along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So, Barnabas’ ministry of spreading the Gospel of Christ was recognised by the apostolic church. The tradition of the martyrdom of Barnabas relates that certain Jews coming to Syria and Salamis, where Barnabas was then preaching the gospel, being frustrated by his success, took him as he was speaking in the synagogue, dragged him out, and, after inhumane tortures, stoned him to death. His kinsman, John Mark, who witnessed his death privately interred his body.
Each one of us is also sharing in the same mission that God has entrusted to all his disciples. We are called to act as ministers of the Lord’s ways of living and loving. To give our lives for the good of others and the glory of God, by being missionary witnesses to the Father’s light, truth and love, his hope and mercy, in our communities. Let us take on the generosity and willingness of Barnabas.
Riflessione (italiano):
Secondo le tradizioni apostoliche, San Barnaba era un ebreo che viveva e proveniva da Cipro, uno degli ebrei che vivevano nella diaspora. Atti 4:36 dice che era un levita di nome Giuseppe. Barnaba era un nome che gli era stato dato dagli apostoli. Significa Figlio dell’incoraggiamento, il che ci dice qualcosa su di lui e su come era visto dagli altri primi cristiani. Negli Atti degli Apostoli, viene descritto come “un uomo buono, pieno di Spirito Santo e di fede”. Era generoso e condivideva ciò che aveva con gli altri apostoli; ci viene detto: “Vendette un campo che gli apparteneva, poi portò il denaro e lo depose ai piedi degli apostoli”. Barnaba e Paolo intrapresero insieme viaggi missionari e fu Barnaba a portare Paolo nella Chiesa primitiva, sponsorizzandolo dopo la sua conversione. Nella lettera del Concilio di Gerusalemme ai Gentili, in Atti 15, versetto 25, leggiamo: “Insieme ai nostri amati Barnaba e Paolo, che hanno rischiato la vita per amore del Signore nostro Gesù Cristo”. Quindi, il ministero di Barnaba di diffondere il Vangelo di Cristo fu riconosciuto dalla Chiesa apostolica. La tradizione del martirio di Barnaba racconta che alcuni Giudei giunti in Siria e a Salamina, dove Barnaba stava predicando il Vangelo, frustrati dal suo successo, lo presero mentre parlava nella sinagoga, lo trascinarono fuori e, dopo torture disumane, lo lapidarono. Il suo parente, Giovanni Marco, che aveva assistito alla sua morte, ne seppellì privatamente il corpo.
Anche ognuno di noi partecipa alla stessa missione che Dio ha affidato a tutti i suoi discepoli. Siamo chiamati ad agire come ministri del modo di vivere e di amare del Signore. A dare la nostra vita per il bene degli altri e la gloria di Dio, essendo testimoni missionari della luce, della verità e dell’amore del Padre, della sua speranza e della sua misericordia, nelle nostre comunità. Assumiamo la generosità e la disponibilità di Barnaba.