Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

My nephew, the Graduate

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,

“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.

Tomorrow we will celebrate Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. So it’s fitting we should celebrate the feast of Saint Barnabas today. Although he was not one of “the twelve apostles” the New Testament and the Church honor him as an apostle. We are grateful for him, if for no other reason than he recognized the talent of the brilliant young Saul of Tarsus and led him into the inner circle of the Church.

Barnabas may be a John the Baptist to Saint Paul’s Jesus. The Baptist’s concluding remark was, “He must increase and I must decrease.” In the same way, Barnabas took Paul in hand, instructed him in the new way, mentored him on their missionary journey, and then stepped out of the way as Paul took charge of the venture.

In the Acts of the Apostles we can see this development in Saint Luke’s careful language. The group was led first by Barnabas, and then by Barnabas and Paul, next by Paul and Barnabas, and finally by Paul. (You can see this progression when you go to Oremus Bible Browser and, in the box named “Or enter a word or phrase to search for” you write “Barnabas.”)

As often happens between a mentor and his protégé, their relationship was not always easy; it finally ended abruptly. Barnabas disappears from the Acts narrative when he and “John called Mark” – perhaps the same Mark who wrote the Gospel – separate from Paul. For whatever reason, Paul didn’t want to work with Mark. But Mark reappears in Paul’s letter to the Colossians; apparently they were reconciled.

The beauty of our New Testament is that the writers and evangelists make no effort to hide the shortcomings and foibles of Jesus’ disciples. They were saints not because they were perfect but because they kept the Word and followed the Spirit. Eventually we realize that if we are perfectible God will have to do the work in his own time; in the meanwhile we’ve got more important things to do, like worshipping the Lord and fasting.