SPEAKER_00: Today the readings give us a powerful lesson about what it means to be a mature Christian.
SPEAKER_00: Many people think Christianity is primarily about avoiding certain sins.
SPEAKER_00: Don't do this, don't do that, stay out of trouble.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus and the early church set the bar much higher.
SPEAKER_00: Christianity is not merely the absence of evil, it is the presence of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: In the first reading, we meet Barnabas, one of the most important figures of the New Testament, yet one of the ones that we least talk about.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, most of us know very little about Barnabas.
SPEAKER_00: We know a great deal about Saint Paul, yet without Barnabas, there might never have been the missionary journeys of Paul as we know them.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what the scripture says about him.
SPEAKER_00: He was a good man filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
SPEAKER_00: What a beautiful description.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine if that was written about us or on our tombstones.
SPEAKER_00: Not that he was wealthy, not that he was influential, not that he was successful.
SPEAKER_00: Simply he was a good man filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
SPEAKER_00: Barnabas arrives in Antioch and sees something beautiful happening.
SPEAKER_00: People are converting, the gospel is spreading, the church is growing, and what does he do?
SPEAKER_00: He encourages them.
SPEAKER_00: The name Barnabas actually means son of encouragement.
SPEAKER_00: He was a kind of person who made others better.
SPEAKER_00: And I think there's a lesson for us here.
SPEAKER_00: There are two kinds of people in every parish, every family, every workplace, those who drain energy from a room, and those who bring life into a room.
SPEAKER_00: Barnabas was the second kind.
SPEAKER_00: When he saw God's grace at work, he rejoiced.
SPEAKER_00: When he saw potential in others, he encouraged it.
SPEAKER_00: When others were suspicious of Saul's conversion, Barnabas believed in him.
SPEAKER_00: When the church needed missionaries, Barnabas said yes.
SPEAKER_00: The church grows because of people like that.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, one of the most overlooked ministries in the church is encouragement.
SPEAKER_00: The word of encouragement can change a life.
SPEAKER_00: A teacher encouraging a student, a parent encouraging a child, a spouse encouraging a husband or wife, a parishioner encouraging a priest.
SPEAKER_00: You may never know how much a simple word can strengthen another person's faith.
SPEAKER_00: But then notice something else.
SPEAKER_00: Barnabas goes to find Saul and brings him to Antioch.
SPEAKER_00: For an entire year there are there together teaching.
SPEAKER_00: Barnabas understood something that every good leader understands.
SPEAKER_00: The mission is bigger than me.
SPEAKER_00: He wasn't interested in building his own reputation.
SPEAKER_00: He wasn't interested in any of the applause.
SPEAKER_00: No, he was interested in building the kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: The saints are not competitors, they are collaborators.
SPEAKER_00: And because Barnabas was humble enough to share the mission, countless souls would eventually hear the gospel through Paul's preaching.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if we connect all of this to today's gospel, Jesus says something startling.
SPEAKER_00: Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: The people listening must have been shocked.
SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees were known for meticulous religious observances.
SPEAKER_00: How could anyone surpass them?
SPEAKER_00: The answer is that Jesus is moving the conversation from external behavior to the human heart.
SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees focused heavily on the letter of the law.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus focuses on the spirit of the law.
SPEAKER_00: It is not enough simply to avoid murder.
SPEAKER_00: You must confront anger.
SPEAKER_00: It's not enough to avoid violence.
SPEAKER_00: You must seek reconciliation.
SPEAKER_00: It's not enough to appear holy.
SPEAKER_00: The heart must be transformed.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of those central teachings of the Sermon on the Mount.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not lowering the standards by any means.
SPEAKER_00: He is raising it.
SPEAKER_00: He is saying that holiness is not merely about what we do with our hands, it is about what we do with our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: And that brings us back to Barnabas.
SPEAKER_00: Barnabas wasn't simply obeying rules, his heart had been transformed by Christ.
SPEAKER_00: This is why he encourages others.
SPEAKER_00: This is why he could reject rejoice in the success of others.
SPEAKER_00: This is why he could be generous with his gifts.
SPEAKER_00: That's why the Holy Spirit could send him on mission.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel today challenges us to examine something many of us carry around every day unresolved anger.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says that people, before we bring our gifts to the altar, we should seek reconciliation.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because resentment is poison to the spiritual life.
SPEAKER_00: We often think the person we refuse to forgive is imprisoned.
SPEAKER_00: In reality, we're the ones sitting in the cell.
SPEAKER_00: Forgiveness does not mean pretending that wrongs never happened.
SPEAKER_00: It does not mean saying evil was good.
SPEAKER_00: No, it means refusing to let bitterness have the final word.
SPEAKER_00: The saints understood this.
SPEAKER_00: Barnabas could encourage others because his heart was free, and a free heart becomes fertile soil for the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: So today on this feast of Barnabas, perhaps we can ask ourselves a couple questions.
SPEAKER_00: Am I known for criticism or encouragement?
SPEAKER_00: Am I building my own kingdom or Christ's kingdom?
SPEAKER_00: Is there anyone that I see or that I associate with that needs forgiveness?
SPEAKER_00: Because the world does not need more religious people who simply follow the rules.
SPEAKER_00: The world needs more disciples whose hearts have been transformed by Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Men and women who are good, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith, men and women like Barnabas.
SPEAKER_00: And through people like that, the church continues to grow.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.