The holy man who is honoured in the liturgy today started out in life with one name and ended up with another. Like Simon Peter, Joseph of Cyprus was one of the prominent Christian disciples living in Jerusalem. He was among the earliest followers of the Way and eventually travelled with Saint Paul on some of his missionary journeys.
Saint Barnabas provides us with a reliable witness of what it means to be salt for the earth (Mt 5:13) and light for the world (Mt 5:14). It took great courage to undertake the journey of a missionary, and it was because of his commitment that others were able to hear about Jesus. We too need to be missionaries today. We too need to have the courage to share the gospel with others. We too need to tell others about Jesus, about who he is, about our own experience of knowing him and about our own witness of lives that have been changed because we have chosen to follow in his footsteps.
Today, let us as Saint Barnabas to pray with us, to strengthen our resolve to set out along the journey that the Lord needs us to travel so that we can be modern-day missionary disciples, ready to set out, ready to face the challenges that all missionaries have known but also ready to commit our lives to Jesus so that others may come to know him.
Have a great day.
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