Memorial of St Barnabas: Holy living

Fr Richard's homily for the Memorial of Saint Barnabas

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Homily: Holy living

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Saint Barnabas, we hear in today’s reading, lived together with Saul (Saint Paul) for a whole year in the church of Antioch. There, the two evangelisers instructed a large number of people and, in this ancient Greek city, the disciples were first called Christians.

I wonder what life in the household of Saul and Barnabas would have been like? Two saintly men – each with their own very different journey to the Christian life – living side by side. They would’ve eaten together, socialised together and, most importantly, prayed together. Barnabas and Saul would have been an example to each other in faith. They will have encouraged each other when challenges came their way. They will have served each other’s needs in a spirit of fraternity.

This holy living will have been the foundation, the basis for their day to day life during that year of preaching the Gospel to the people of Antioch. Their work there was significant – the city became one of the five original patriarchates of the Universal Church.

The story of Saint Barnabas teaches us that we need a solid, prayerful, loving household from which to go out and proclaim the saving message of Christ. If our daily living at home is disjointed, lacking in prayer, inattentive to the work of the Spirit in our lives – then we won’t be deeply rooted in the Lord enough to go out in faith and witness with zeal to the Gospel.

But if we embrace times of silence as quality time with the Lord, if we serve in love those we live with (or are in contact with), if we encourage each other in the faith – then we’ll have the disposition to go out and “proclaim that the Kingdom of God is close at hand.”

Today’s reading tells us that St Barnabas was “a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith.” These attributes will have been fed by a humble, loving friendship while living with Saul. As we continue to spend more time at the house, perhaps we might reflect on how we “live” at home. If it’s with devotion to our Lord and with spirit of service to our family and friends – then we can follow Barnabas into the halls of the heavenly Kingdom.