Acts 12:24-13:5a

Acts 12:24-13:5a

The word of God continued to spread and grow.

After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,

they returned to Jerusalem,

taking with them John, who is called Mark.

Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:

Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,

Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,

“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul

for the work to which I have called them.”

Then, completing their fasting and prayer,

they laid hands on them and sent them off.

So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit,

went down to Seleucia

and from there sailed to Cyprus.

When they arrived in Salamis,

they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you offer me the gift of eternal life through your Son. I welcome that gift today and promise to care for it and pray that it flourishes into works of love. Save me from the darkness of sin and death and bestow on me the light of faith and life.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Spiritual and Material Aid: The First Reading opens with a reference to a “relief mission” undertaken by Barnabas and Saul. The context for this mission was the “great famine,” which was prophesied by Agabus (Acts 11:28). The famine affected different areas of the Roman Empire, but struck Judea in A.D. 44-46. Saul and Barnabas were in the Church in Antioch when the famine struck. “The Antioch Church, which by this time was probably much wealthier than the Jerusalem Church, responds to the famine by taking up a collection and sending it to Jerusalem ‘by the hand of Barnabas and Saul’ (Acts 11:30). The Jerusalem Church had originally sent Barnabas to Antioch to provide spiritual aid; the Antioch Church now sends him back to provide material aid, indicating the continuing bond of communion between the churches” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 106-107). Barnabas and Saul handed the aid to the “elders” (presbyters) of the church in Jerusalem. These presbyters were men whom the apostles had appointed to help guide and lead the Church in Jerusalem. 

2. Peter’s Exodus from Jerusalem: In Acts 12-14, Luke describes the renewal of persecution experienced by the Church in Jerusalem. He relates how Peter had to flee from the city and how the Gospel spread from Antioch to the west. “The new exodus is underway, and the People of God now carry the Gospel out of Jerusalem and into the rest of the Roman Empire, pressing ever closer to Rome itself” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 111). The persecution was renewed by Herod Agrippa, the grandson of King Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa was appointed king of Judea and Samaria by the Roman emperor Claudius in A.D. 41. Herod wanted to curry favor with his Jewish subjects and felt that persecuting the followers of Jesus would gain that favor. He had James the Greater, the brother of John, arrested and executed (Acts 12:2). When Herod saw that the execution of James was popular among his Jewish subjects, he had Peter arrested and planned for his execution (Acts 12:4). Peter, however, was delivered from prison by the angel of the Lord (Acts 12:7-8). Peter had to depart Jerusalem and left the city in the charge of James the Less, the Brother of the Lord (Acts 12:17). “Luke ends his account of Peter’s escape with a description of Herod’s gruesome death because of the latter’s acceptance of a blasphemous acclamation of divinity. Herod refused to give ‘God the glory’ and, like Pharaoh, was therefore struck down (Acts 12:23; cf. Exodus 14:17-18). Pagan kings, not least those of Egypt, were often worshipped as gods, and Herod was apparently not immune from this idolatrous temptation. The narrative is now complete. As Israel escaped from Egypt while Pharaoh was judged, so Peter has escaped from Jerusalem while Herod is judged” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 114).

3. The Word of God Spreads: At this point, there is a transition in the Acts of the Apostles from the ministry of Peter to that of Saul. Peter flees Jerusalem and, according to tradition, likely went to Rome and was hosted by the Roman senator Pudens (see Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 289). Saul will go on several missionary journeys to bring the Word of God throughout the Mediterranean and will eventually land in Rome. We are told in the First Reading that Barnabas and Saul completed their mission to deliver material aid to Jerusalem during the great famine of A.D. 44-46 and brought back John Mark with them to Antioch. This “John Mark” is traditionally identified as the author of the second Gospel. When the community was gathered in prayer, the Holy Spirit inspired the community to choose and commission Barnabas and Saul and send them out to preach the Word of God throughout Asia Minor (Acts 13-14). “Such a mission could not take place until Peter had initiated table fellowship with the Gentiles in Acts 11. The first destination selected by Barnabas and Saul is Cyprus (cf. Acts 13:4), possibly because Barnabas is a native of the island (cf. Acts 4:36)” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 114).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, through your passion, death, and resurrection, you have gained eternal life for all peoples and enabled them to become children of God. Help me to see how I can bring more people to know you and believe in you so that they may enjoy eternal life in your name.

Living the Word of God: Has my faith become lukewarm, or is it living and active? What does a living and active faith look like in my daily life? How can I be like Saul and Barnabas today: attentive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and fearless in the proclamation of the Gospel?