The Gospel of Reconciliation

    Today, June 6, the Church Celebrates the memorial of  St. Barnabas, Apostle and teaches The Gospel of Reconciliation

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Acts 11:21-26; 13:1-3
“The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. The news reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and exhorted everyone to remain faithful to the Lord with a firm heart, because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great multitude was added to the Lord.”
(Acts 11:21-24)
"Barnabas set out for Tarsus in search of Saul, and when he found him, he took him to Antioch. They met with the Church for a whole year and taught many people. It was in Antioch that, for the first time, the disciples received the name of Christians.”
(Acts 11:25-26)
“While they were celebrating the worship of the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Separate Barnabas and Saul for me for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, after fasting, praying, and laying on of hands on them, they sent them away.”
(Acts 13:2-3)
- The word of the Lord

Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26
"For I say to you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 5:20)
“You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You shall not kill’; and he who kills will be held guilty before the tribunal. But I tell you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be held guilty in court.”
(Matthew 5:21-22)
“Therefore, if when you present your offering at the altar you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go first to be reconciled to your brother, and then present your offering again.”
(Matthew 5:23-24)

- Glory to you Lord Jesus

Faith Is Demonstrated In Love
    The Church celebrates today the memory of Saint Barnabas, a man described by Scripture as ”good, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith"
(Acts 11:24).
    Barnabas was a disciple capable of recognizing the work of God in others, encouraging the community and helping others to grow in faith. He did not seek prominence; he sought for others to remain faithful to the Lord.

    Today's Gospel, however, confronts us with a teaching that is often difficult for us to embrace: God does not want only our external sacrifices or appearances; he wants mercy and reconciliation.
    We can pray, sing, go to church, listen to praise music in our car, read Scripture till we are blue in the face. We can fast, do penance and fulfill countless religious practices. And those things are not bad.
    BUT...Jesus teaches something profoundly demanding: if our religious life is not translated into love of neighbor, it loses its meaning and may very well be pointless.
    Christ says it clearly: “If, when you present your offering at the altar, you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there... go first and be reconciled to your brother.” *
(Matthew 5:23-24)

….or, if YOU hold some grudge, some rancor or loathing, i.e., YOU hold something against your fellow brother(s) or sister(s). Especially if YOU hold the ill will against them....

    As Christians you'd think this would be a, "no-brainer." After all, we claim to be living in faith and doing what Jesus says to do. But the truth is, we often don't. It is often easier to pray than to forgive, easier to perform a rite or some little self-appealing ritual than to reconcile, more comfortable to judge than to love as Christ would hve us love.
    Frankly, because we don't recognize that we are human with our own flaws, we find this teaching difficult.

True Measure Of Faith
    The Lord is not impressed only by our religious activities. In fact, He may not be impressed by them at all, because authentic faith is also demonstrated in how we treat others.
    What is the point of offering high praise to God - while we despise one of His children, especially our fellow Christians?
    We can fill our life with devotions, sacrifices, prayers, Scripture reading, and so on, but if at the same time we criticize, humiliate, defame, discredit, or condemn others, we have created a vacuum that goes unfilled.
    Today's Gospel reminds us that love of neighbor is not optional; it is the central part of the Christian life.

God is Father, Christ is God Present
    And just as a mother or a father suffers when someone despises their children, God also hurts when we despise those He loves.
Sometimes we focus too mch on what we consider the flaws, failures or missteps of others... and leaping to judge who deserves salvation and who does not. We might even think we have the right to condemn them.
    However, Jesus constantly showed a different attitude....180 degrees different.

Those Who Seem Lost – and Jesus
    Christ taught over and over again that no one is beyond the reach of God's mercy.
- He told us about the prodigal son, who after being lost returned home and was received by his father with love (Luke 15:11-32).
- He told us about the lost sheep, for which the shepherd left the ninety-nine to go out and look for her (Luke 15:3-7).
- On the cross he opened the gates of paradise to a repentant criminal: "Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

    The teaching is clear: God desires the salvation of all His children.

Love Proves Christian Authenticity
    Empty religious acts do not transform, regardless of what we tell ourselves.
    A faith without the kind of love Jesus speaks of is not only incomplete, but a sham against God.
    The Scripture which The Church gave us expresses it strongly:
"He who does not love his brother, whom he sees, cannot love God, whom he does not see.”
(1 John 4:20)
    It is easy to say that we love God - because we do not see Him, physically. We say we have “faith,” but that is easy when it is just us talking ourselves into it.
    On the other hand, the difficult thing is the action of loving those we CAN see, especially those we deem imperfect, difficult, wounded or mistaken.
    But that is where true discipleship begins.
    If we want to please God, we must learn to love all His children, even if we have a gripe against them....often a gripe we made up to please ourselves.
    If we want to get closer to the Creator, we must start with the creatures he loves. It does not mean approving of every bad behavior or ignoring sin; that is where discernment enters the picture. But we must overcome the urge to despise people who we disagree with....we must renounce the attitude of condemning without mercy.
    The problem is, we want Jesus...until He gets real.
    Learning to reconcile Jesus as a living part of our lives is where today's Gospel leads us. We are invited by the Lord to reconcile with our “adversary” before coming to judgment of them.
    - On a logical level, it makes no sense to present ourselves before God with resentment, hatred or contempt in our hearts.
    - On a spiritual level, that condemns US, no matter how “good” we think we are...
    The offering that pleases the Lord is born from a heart that struggles to love, forgive and heal relationships, even when that is difficult. Especially when that is difficult.
    No – it is not always easy. It will not always be immediate.
But God sees the sincere effort of those who try to overcome their rancor and reconcile.
    The call of today's Gospel is simple and profound:
    - Let's love.
    - Let's forgive.
    - Let's stop pointing fingers and learn to reconcile.
    Because the one who loves waits, endures, perseveres, and strives to change and trusts in God's mercy. And those who truly love understand that we all belong to the great family of God.

Final Reflection
    Let us ask the Lord today for the grace to approach Him with a repentant heart, but also with a life full of small acts of love for others.... even those we don't understand or for whom we have resentment.
    May St. Barnabas teach us to encourage, reconcile and strengthen others in the faith. And may we always remember the words of the Gospel: "Go and make up with your brother first.”
(Matthew 5:24)
Amen.

In the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, may Gods blessing descend upon you and be with you always.

- June 6 2026

This was arranged for teaching from an original Spanish language tubecast by Father Robinson Gonzalez at Oxi Espiritual, YouTube. We are indebted to his stewardship and faith-full Christian counsel.
To see that video, click on this link: Gospel of Reconciliaton