20190611
MISSION
OR PEOPLE?
11 JUNE, 2019,
Tuesday, St Barnabas, Apostle
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First reading
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Acts 11:21-26,13:1-3 ©
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He was a good man, filled with the Holy
Spirit and with faith
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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.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1-6 ©
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The Lord has shown his
salvation to the nations.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has shown his
salvation to the nations.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the
nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has shown his
salvation to the nations.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has shown his
salvation to the nations.
Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
The Lord has shown his
salvation to the nations.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt28:19,20
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Go, make disciples of all the nations.
I am with you always; yes, to the end of
time.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 10:7-13 ©
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You received without charge: give
without charge
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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.’
MISSION OR
PEOPLE?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Acts 11:21-26. 13:1-3; Mt 10:7-13]
In both scripture
readings today, the theme of mission comes out strongly. We read that the Holy Spirit told
the Christian community at Antioch, “I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the
work to which I have called them.” In the gospel, the Lord instructed the
disciples, “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 have
received without charge, give without charge.” Indeed, the mission is
urgent. Hence, the Lord told the disciples to travel light so that they
can travel fast and far. “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.”
Whilst we should be
focused on our mission, there is also a danger that the success of the mission
becomes more important than the people we work with in the mission. There are some leaders who are
achievers. They set their goals and give all their energy and resources
to attain it. These leaders are single-minded, focused, persevering and
passionate. But they can become arrogant, insensitive, unfeeling and task-orientated,
so much so their collaborators are only tools and agents for them to attain
their goals. They evaluate their fellow collaborators or workers in terms
of productivity and success. The KPIs (Key Productivity Indicators) are
the measure by which they assess their co-workers. They must be
useful and productive; otherwise, they will be removed from the team.
Yet today, Barnabas
reminds us that whilst mission is an intrinsic dimension of the Church, it is
people that are more important at the end of the day. The gauge of success is not how
many churches we build, how many communities we have established, how many
members we have recruited or how much funds we have collected. It is how
we treat people; how we help them to grow, to mature in their faith, to live a
deeper Christian life, to be full of joy in the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the
goal of the mission is to change lives, to touch lives and to help people to
live their lives with greater passion, zeal, meaning and purpose through a
transformed life in Christ.
For this reason,
although Barnabas was very missionary-minded, he was more concerned for those
who worked with him and the community that he was sent to. He was a natural encourager.
Indeed, his name, “Barnabas” means “encourager.” Whichever community he
went to, he would encourage the Christians in their spiritual life. “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.” Barnabas built
the Christian community through his constant encouragement.
Not only was he a source
of encouragement to the community, but he was also very encouraging towards his
collaborators.
We read that when no one wanted Saul because they were suspicious of his past,
it was Barnabas who saw the goodness and potential in Saul. He was able
to see goodness even in the weakness of people. Hence, with courage,
“Barnabas 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 number of people.”
Indeed, the greatness of
Barnabas was that he never gave up on people no matter how hopeless or
unreliable they were. He
always believed in the goodness of every person. This positive outlook of
Barnabas in his dealings with people was not just manifested in his calling
Saul to join him in his mission but later on in accepting John Mark as his
collaborator. Paul did not want John Mark to follow them in the
mission because he was unreliable and irresponsible for breaking journey in
their first missionary trip. (cf Acts 13:13) It was Barnabas who
sought to give John Mark a second chance. Hence, after a sharp
disagreement with Paul, they departed amicably, with Paul taking Silas with him
on his missionary trip to Syria; and Barnabas taking John Mark with him to
spread the gospel at Cyprus. (cf Acts 15:38f)
Indeed, Barnabas was a
man with a good heart.
Luke described him as “a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with
faith.” It was because of his goodness that “a large number of
people were won over to the Lord.” He was a generous man. It was in Acts 4:36 when Barnabas was first
mentioned. “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called
Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and
brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.” His generosity was
not only in kind but also in his love, compassion and empathy with those who
were underdogs and those who were rejected by others. He never lost faith
in people; even those whom others had given up on.
It was through Barnabas’
generosity and selflessness that Paul was invited to join him in his mission. Paul was a great preacher and more
eloquent than Barnabas. But he did not feel threatened by Paul, unlike
many leaders who feel threatened when their subordinates perform better than
themselves. In their fear and envy, they would try to stifle the
initiative and growth of their subordinates. But not so in the case
of Barnabas. He allowed Paul to flower in the ministry with him. He
did not try to put Paul down but instead stepped aside so that Paul could come
into prominence and eventually overtook over him. He humbly stepped aside
when he found someone who could do a better job than him. St Luke subtly
recognized this in the way he recorded about their ministry – initially, it was
always Barnabas and Paul, (cf Act 13:42) but subsequently, Luke would refer
to them as Paul and Barnabas.
Barnabas was a humble
man. He was willing to go wherever he was sent. He did not wish to compete with
Paul. He not only allowed Paul to be successful in his ministry but when
Paul could not work with John Mark, both of them went separate ways without
resentment or disparagement. We never heard about Barnabas criticizing
Paul or angry with him about that incident. Since Paul knew what he was
doing and he was successful in his mission, Barnabas wanted to give Mark
another chance, and so brought him along on another mission in Cyprus.
Indeed, Barnabas was never egoistic. He did not seek power, control or
fame. He was not even worried about success or what legacy he would leave
behind. He was only interested in spreading the gospel and bringing
people along to collaborate with him. Barnabas was a team player.
He was one who led by example and by tapping the resources and hidden talents
of others, and together, helped them to use them for the proclamation of the
gospel.
Indeed, without
Barnabas, there would not be a Paul! This is an important lesson for us to
learn. We might not all be great missionaries and preachers like
Paul. We might not be a Minister in the government or a CEO of a big
company. We might just be ordinary teachers, collaborators and team
players in an organization. It does not matter what position we hold.
What is important is that we contribute our best to the team. Let God
decide in the team communal discernment as who is the best person to lead
us. This was what they did, “So it was that after fasting and prayer they
laid their hands on them and sent them off.” So if we are called, we should
respond. If not, we should just give encouragement to the team members as
Barnabas did.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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