YEAR B: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME. MEMORIAL OF ST BARNABAS (1)

YEAR B: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS!

BY: Fr Benny Tuazon

HOMILY:

(Mt. 10:7-13) Feast Of St. Barnabas

In today’s Gospel, Feast of St. Barnabas, Jesus sends His apostles to proclaim the Good News and that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus stressed the urgency of repentance so that everyone will be welcomed to the Kingdom. Jesus called the apostles in order to continue the work of proclaiming the Good News.

Barnabas, who appeared after the death of Jesus and was a good friend of Paul, was welcomed to the Christian community after he sold everything he had and gave them to the Christian community. From Joseph, he was renamed as Barnabas which means “son of consolation” or “man of encouragement.” Barnabas was known in Cyprus where he died as a martyr and preached also in Alexandria and Rome. We owe to him and the apostles the faith that we have today.

As witnesses and proclaimers of the life, ministry, teachings, and examples of Jesus, the apostles and disciples and the early Christian community made sure that the deposits of the Christian faith will be handed down from generation to generation. We are thankful to them for faithfully gathering, preserving, and transmitting what Jesus had come to give for our salvation. This is the reason why we honour the apostles and the saints. They had testified to the truth of the faith where we belong. By their lives, God in Jesus Christ was made known to all. By their lives, word is being made flesh.

The call to proclaim the Good News and the coming of the Kingdom does not only rest in the apostles. It rests on each and everyone of us. It is now our turn to see to it that what had been handed down to us will be shared to the next generation. Now you can understand the Church. The leadership of the Church, from the priest to the Pope, has that important responsibility to see to it that the Good News is proclaimed as given by the Lord Jesus. The Church is defined by her faithfulness to the Lord Jesus.

Thus, even if the whole world thinks otherwise, i.e. against the very teaching of Jesus as received by the apostles, the faith stands. What we believe is not determined by a majority. The Church is not a democracy. We do not subject what we believe by election. While there are aspects of faith which maybe consulted to the faithful, the matter of faith are absolute.

It is our responsibility to know the faith which Jesus had founded. It is best to listen to His designated prophets; the apostles, the seventy- two, the disciples, the popes, bishops, priests and authorized lay persons. When we live what Jesus taught as taught by the Church, we are assured of salvation.