Why St. Barnabas?

St. Barnabas, of course, is not his real name (his given name was Joseph— “He will increase”). It is a nickname, though of course, the term nickname is trivializing. Actually, in ancient Jewish culture, a new name was given to a person in order to show a change in character or status. Bar Nabas means either Son of Consolation or Son of Exhortation, something that the apostles saw in the convert’s character.

Both of these fit very well with what we believe we have been called to do, here. Most of us are lay members of the Order of Preachers, and we see our activities within St. Barnabas as furthering our commitment to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. St. Barnabas was a fearless missionary and preacher in his lifetime—he accompanied Paul on several of his early missionary journeys, and in fact was mistaken for the Greek god Hermes, so powerful was his speaking (Paul, as the older man, and having authority, was confused with Zeus). So we ask for his help to follow his good example in proclaiming the Gospel and urging all people to be reconciled with God.

Because St. Barnabas was also a powerful force for reconciliation in the early Church. He was intrumental in reconciling the Jewish Christians with the new Gentile Christians, being an ambassador to and from the first Council, at Jerusalem. He was not afraid to disagree—he and St. Paul famously disagreed so sharply that they parted company for a time. But he also reconciled St. Paul and St. John Mark. John Mark, as you remember, was a brilliant young scion of a wealthy family in Jerusalem. He volunteered to go with Paul and Barnabas on a missionary journey, but at the last minute backed out, leaving them in a spot. When John Mark volunteered again some years later, St. Barnabas forgave him and gave him a scecond chance, while St. Paul refused to take him back. Later, however, we see John Mark mentioned in Paul’s epistle as a faithful friend in Rome. Surely, St. Barnabas reconciled the two.

St. Barnabas was a man filled with the spirit of consolation rather than confrontation. If there is one thing that characterizes our age, it is our rage—anger, hatred, and bitterness are the waters in which we swim. We ask St. Barnabas to help us console rather than control, to extend love rather than to exert power.