Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3 / Mt 5:17-19
On this feast of Saint Barnabas I would like to start by looking at the third stanza of our Responsorial Psalm: “All the ends of the earth have seen/ the salvation by our God./ Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;/ break into song; sing praise.”
I wanted to start here because “Barnabas” means “Son of encouragement” And I wanted to take a look at the encouragement and praise that our Responsorial Psalm offers us today. There is a great encouragement in this Psalm. It reminds us that God is known all over the earth. Further, we are asked to remember that Barnabas was a man made for encouragement his day. He no doubt knew this Psalm, and rejoiced when it says to sing praise to God.
We need to rejoice when we see what God has done and is doing for each one of us. And as we see these things happen we need to become like Barnabas — encouraging one another as we see the work of God unfold before us: for the majesty of His name; for the goodness that He has poured out; for the power of His love and mercy and grace.
Today, “sing joyfully to the Lord…break into song; sing praise.” Be the encouragement God intended you to be, and means you to be in our world so desperately in need of the praise of God.
Do you remember how the hymn of the Easter Vigil starts? ” Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs and angels!/ Exult, all creation around God’s throne!…”
Let us rejoice in what God has done and show others the reason for our joy and our courage and our encouragement. Gather around His throne to receive His blessings, and then share those blessings as the encouragement of our day.
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