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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
June 11, 2025
Barnabas
Reading: Acts 9:26-31
When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they were attempting to kill him. When the believers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
I can vividly remember those childhood games that involved choosing - whether the Farmer in the Dell, in which the Farmer takes a Wife, the Wife takes a child, the child takes a nurse and so on until “the Cheese stands alone” or in choosing teams for gym in elementary and middle schools and the least athletically proficient person was chosen last. And even then sometimes, begrudgingly. I remember the feelings of the last person chosen: unappreciated, unaccomplished, embarrassed, worthless, forlorn, outcast and abandoned. And definitely not cool.
When it comes to selecting from a group of candidates for positions a number of companies and organizations follow a formal means of finding and choosing individuals to add to their rosters. .Modern methods of recruitment employ a process that involves identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for positions within an organization, extending to the recruit’s integration into the company. On the other hand, in the Church, discernment is perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual guidance and understanding. This is an additional and important aspect of the hiring process. Discernment is not a passive trait but an active practice that requires seeking God's guidance through prayer and study of His Word, as well as exercising good judgment in everyday life. Of course, none of these formalities existed in the first century, especially as Barnabas encounters Saul, later known as Paul.
These examples, unlike today’s passage, do not involve fear of the newly joining disciple; it is the belief that Saul is not a disciple that is at the heart of the disciples’ rejection of him. These new disciples, no doubt, are quite familiar with Saul’’s reputation for being a notorious persecutor of the early disciples of Christ. How could they know that Saul/Paul had the makings of being the greatest early apostle, Christian theologian and converter of others to Christianity, and the founder/leader of early Christian churches?! So, one can understand, if not sympathize with their opposition.
What Saul/Paul feared was the danger that Jesus posed to the barriers that had been an essential part of the temple until this time. Jesus rendered those barriers unnecessary. When Jesus confronts Paul with the reality of Paul’s fear, he becomes an apostle to the Gentiles. Barnabas comes to Paul’s rescue and vouches for him. This might be a first century use of discernment. Barnabas shows Paul mercy, It is mercy that enables Barnabas to see beyond the past experience to the present possibility. For mercy softens the heart, and allows Barnabas to look past the barrier imposed by a past experience into the depth of Paul as a person, as if it were the sun melting the layer of ice on a lake, allowing one to see its depth.
We do not always fully know the gifts that one initially brings to ministry unless we are willing to be patient, even extravagant in our patience, to encourage the offering and development of everyone’s gift to the fullest extent of their giftedness. It is our opportunity to see each person from God’s perspective as one whom the Holy Spirit blessed at Baptism with gifts.
A Prayer of Self-Dedication
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
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