The New Creation

From a letter attributed to Barnabas

The Lord was willing to hand over his body for destruction so that by the shedding of His Blood we might be made holy through the remission of our sins.  According to Scripture this refers to both Israel and us.  He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised by our iniquities; by his wounds we are healed.  He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, like a lamb that is dumb before its shearer.   What a debt of gratitude, then, do we owe to the Lord for letting us see the meaning of the past, for instructing us about the present and not leaving us in the ignorance about the future. 

In the words of Scripture: 

Now unjustly are nets spread for birds.  

This means that a man is justly condemned if, 

knowing the right way, 

he heads into the way of darkness.

The Lord was ready to undergo suffering for our souls’ sake, even though He is Lord of the whole earth, the one to whom God said at the foundation of the world: Let us make man in our own image and likeness.  But, in that case, my brothers, how could He allow Himself to suffer at the hands of men?  

This is the explanation.  The prophets inspired by His grace foretold what He would do; He allowed Himself to suffer because He had to be seen in the flesh, in order that He might destroy the power of death and manifest the resurrection from the dead.  In this way he would carry out the promise that had been made to our forefathers, and while still on earth prepare Himself a new people; He would also show that, after the resurrection, He was to be our judge.  Furthermore, by teaching Israel and working such great signs and wonders, He proclaimed the good news and showed the depths of His love for that people.

Having thus renewed us by forgiving our sins, He refashioned us; He gave us the souls of children, as though we had been born anew.  For it is to us that Scripture refer when the Father says to the Son: Let us make man according to our own image and likeness; and let him rule over the beasts on the earth and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.  The Lord saw the beauty of our fashioning and added: Increase and multiply and fill the earth.

All this God said to His Son.  But let me now point out to you how He also speaks to us.  It is indeed a second act of creation that the Lord has performed in these last days; that is why He says:  Behold, I am making the last things like the first. It was this that the prophet had in mind when he said: Enter into a land flowing with milk and honey, and rule over it. It is true, you see, that we have been completely remade.  This is what God means by the words of another prophet: Behold, says the Lord, I will take the stony hearts out of this people, that is, the people whom the Spirit of the Lord foreknew, and put hearts of flesh into them.  For He willed to appear in the flesh and live among us.

And so, my brothers, 

the dwelling place of our hearts 

is a temple sacred to the Lord.  

Again, the Lord says; Let me give thanks to you in the assembly of the people.  So it is we whom He has led into a fertile land.

St. Barnabas on the New Law of the Lord

Christ teaching the Apostles

The New Law of the Lord

A Letter attributed to St. Barnabas

God has abolished the sacrifices of the old law so that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ imposes no yoke of coercion and its sacrifice is not one made by man. In another place he says to them, Did I command your fathers when they came out of the land of Egypt to offer me burnt offerings and sacrifices? No, but I commanded them this: “Let none of you cherish any evil in his heart against his neighbour, and let none of you be fond of breaking vows.” 

If we have any sense then we will understand the loving intention of our Father. He wants us not to err as these people did but to seek how we may make our offering to him. And he tells us: the sacrifice for the Lord is a contrite heart, a heart that glorifies its Maker is a sweet savour to the Lord.

My brethren, we must look closely

into the matter of our salvation

so that the Evil One does not slyly

enter our hearts and drag us away

from the life that lies before us.

God also says to them, Why are you keeping a fast for me and filling this day with your whinings? I have not decreed this fast, says the Lord, nor this humiliation of man’s soul.  Turning to us, he says Here is the fast I decree: relax your iniquitous restrictions, loosen the shackles of your oppressive contracts, let your ruined debtors go free and teat up your unjust agreements. Break your bread and give it to the hungry, if you see a man without clothing, give him clothes of your own. If you see one who is homeless, bring him into your own house.

Let us flee from all vanity, let us hold in aversion the Way of Wickedness and its works.

Do not withdraw into solitude as if you were already considered righteous,

but come together and seek out the common good.

For Scripture says: Woe betide those who are wise in their own eyes and knowledgeable in their own sight. Let us be men of the Spirit, let us be a temple consecrated to God. As far as we can, let us devote ourselves to living in the fear of God, and let us strive to keep his commandments so that his ordinances become our delight.

When the Lord judges the world he will have no favourites:

each will receive according to his deeds.

If he is good then his righteousness will lead him forward; if he is evil then the reward of iniquity will be in front of him.

Let us never complacently think of ourselves as ‘called’, let us never doze in our sinfulness, or the Prince of Evil may gain power over us and thrust us out from the Kingdom of the Lord. And consider this also, my brethren, you see what great signs and wonders were wrought in Israel and yet in the end they were finally abandoned –

let us be very careful not to be among those of whom it was written

that many are called but few are chosen.

About Saint Barnabas 

St. Barnabas

Barnabas, a Jew of Cyprus, comes as close as anyone outside the Twelve to being a full-fledged apostle. He was closely associated with St. Paul (he introduced Paul to Peter and the other apostles) and served as a kind of mediator between the former persecutor and the still suspicious Jewish Christians.

When a Christian community developed at Antioch, Barnabas was sent as the official representative of the Church of Jerusalem to incorporate them into the fold. He and Paul instructed in Antioch for a year, after which they took relief contributions to Jerusalem.

Later, Paul and Barnabas, now clearly seen as charismatic leaders, were sent by Antioch officials to preach to the Gentiles. Enormous success crowned their efforts. After a miracle at Lystra, the people wanted to offer sacrifice to them as gods—Barnabas being Zeus, and Paul, Hermes—but the two said, “We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God” (see Acts 14:8-18).

But all was not peaceful. They were expelled from one town, they had to go to Jerusalem to clear up the ever-recurring controversy about circumcision and even the best of friends can have differences. When Paul wanted to revisit the places they had evangelized, Barnabas wanted to take along John Mark, his cousin, author of the Gospel (April 25), but Paul insisted that, since Mark had deserted them once, he was not fit to take along now. The disagreement that followed was so sharp that Barnabas and Paul separated, Barnabas taking Mark to Cyprus, Paul taking Silas to Syria. Later, they were reconciled—Paul, Barnabas and Mark.

When Paul stood up to Peter for not eating with Gentiles for fear of his Jewish friends, we learn that “even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy” (see Galatians 2:1-13).

Story:

Barnabas is mentioned by name as one of the generous members of the idyllic and extremely poor Church in Jerusalem: "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. . . . There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.

"Thus Joseph, also named by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated 'son of encouragement.), a Levite, a Cypriot by birth, sold a pieace of property that he owned, then broguht the moeny and put it at the feet of the apostles" (Acts 4:32, 34-37).

Comment:

Barnabas is spoken of simply as one who dedicated his life to the Lord. He was a man "filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. Thereby large numbers were added to the Lord." Even when he and Paul were expelled from Antioch in Pisidia (modern-day Turkey), they were "filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1411