First Reading – Adapted from Acts 11:21B-26; 12:1-3
Many people believed and turned to the Lord. When the Church in Jerusalem heard about it, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. He was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. When he arrived in Antioch, he saw the grace of God and rejoiced. He encouraged the people to remain faithful to the Lord with strong hearts, and many more people began worshiping the Lord. Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They met with the Church for a whole year, and taught a large number of people. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
There were prophets and teachers in the Church at Antioch, such as: Barnabas, Symeon who was also called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul aside for me for the work I am calling them to.” When they finished their fasting and prayer, they gave them a blessing, and sent them off.
Psalm 98:1-6
O sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.
The LORD has made known his victory,
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
Gospel – Adapted from Matthew 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples, “Unless your holiness is greater than the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Your ancestors were told, ‘You shall not kill; whoever kills will be punished.’ But I tell you, whoever is angry with his brother will be punished. Whoever insults his brother will be judged, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be at risk of the fire. So if you bring your gift to God and remember that your brother has anything against you, first go and make peace with your brother, then offer your gift to God.
“Make peace with your opponent quickly on the way to court with him. Otherwise he will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
Saint Barnabas
Born: Unknown
Died: 61
There is no written history of Saint Barnabas other than what we read about him in scripture. We know that he traveled with Paul for some time until they separated and went their own ways. Barnabas went to Jerusalem twice with Paul. He also traveled with Paul on his first missionary journey that began in Cyprus.
Luke tells us that Barnabas was “a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith” (Acts 11:24). After parting ways with Paul, he returned to Cyprus where he evangelized the island. Some of the early church fathers attributed Barnabas as being the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Stories say he died at Salamis in 61.
