The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 332: Barnabas and Paul On Mission (2023)

Episode Date: November 28, 2023

Fr. Mike begins by explaining the confusion experienced by the early Christians as they struggled to integrate the Gentiles into the Church. We also hear more about Barnabas, missionary companion of St. Paul, who was named by God as the "Son of Encouragement." Lastly, Fr. Mike delves into the history surrounding paganism and hedonism in pre-Christian Corinth and the need to encourage the Greeks to leave their old ways of worship. Today's readings are Acts 11, 1 Corinthians 3-4, Proverbs 27:23-27. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation. Discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today, it is day 332. If you are following along with the Great Adventure Bible year-to-year reading plan, you would know that this is the second-to-last day on the second-to-last page of the year,

which is pretty phenomenal if you ask me. We're reading on day 332, Acts of the Apostles, chapter 11, 1 Corinthians, chapters 3 and 4, as well as Proverbs, chapter 27, verses 23 through 27. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, the Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. And also, you can download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, in which case you would know that we are on the second to last day, on the second to last page of this entire Bible in a Year reading plan. If you had it in your hand, you'd be able to check it off and say, oh my goodness, all these dates, all these readings are checked off, except for one, you know, I'm getting

that. As I said, you can download your own Bible in a Year reading plan at ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and receiving daily episodes and daily updates. It is day 332. We're reading Acts of the Apostles, chapter 11, St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians, his first one, chapters three and four, and Proverbs chapter 27, verses 23 through 27. The Acts of the Apostles,

chapter 11. Peter's report to the church at Jerusalem. Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them? But Peter began and explained to them in order. I was in the city of Joppa, praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something descending, like a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air, and I heard a voice saying to me, rise, Peter, kill and eat. But I said, no Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth. But the voice answered a second time from heaven, what God has cleansed, you must not call common. This happened

three times and all was drawn up again into heaven. At that very moment, three men arrived at the house in which we were sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brethren also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. And he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, Send to Joppa, and bring Simon called Peter. He will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household. As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said,

John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? When they heard this, they were silenced, and they glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life. The Church in Antioch Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the

Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large company of people. And in Antioch, the disciples were for the first time called Christians. Now in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to

Antioch, and one of them, named Agabus, stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world. And this took place in the days of Claudius. And the disciples determined every one according to his ability to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea, and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3, on dissension in the Corinthian church. But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh,

as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it, and even yet you are not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving like ordinary men? For when one says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos, are you not merely men? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants, through whom he believed

as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, God's building. According to the commission of God given to me,

like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become manifest. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive

a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God's temple, and that God's spirit dwells in you. If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy and that temple you are. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, he catches the wise in their craftiness. And again, the Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile. So let no one boast of men.

For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Kepha or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours. And you are Christ's. And Christ is God's. Chapter 4. The Ministry of the Apostles. This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ,

and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes,

who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God. I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? Already you are filled, already you have become rich. Without us you have become kings.

And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you. For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly clothed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless. When persecuted,

we endure. When slandered, we try to conciliate. We have become and are now as the refuse of the world, the dregs of all things. Fatherly admonition. I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you then, be imitators of me.

Therefore, I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love in a spirit of gentleness? The book of Proverbs chapter 27 verses 23 through 27.

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds. For riches do not last forever, and does a crown endure to all generations? When the grass is gone, and the new growth appears, and the herbage of the mountains is gathered, the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field. There will be enough goat's milk for your food, for the food of your household, and maintenance for your maidens. Father in heaven, I give you praise and thank you so much. Thank you for the gift of grace, and thank you not only for the gift of your grace, but also for the gift of your messengers,

Peter and Paul, and Barnabas, who we hear of today. We just ask you, please, Peter and Paul and Barnabas who we hear of today, we just ask you, please, help us to live like them. Help us to continuously say yes to you and to whatever it is that you want to do in our lives, whatever it is that you want to do in this world, Lord God, we say yes. And we ask you to please help us to say yes to you and your will and your plan and to say yes to love with everything we have. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father and of the In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. So we have Peter had this incredible revelation, right? And Cornelius, the whole thing we heard yesterday. And then today, what do we have? We have Peter reporting and that God wants to extend his Holy Spirit on the Gentiles. And there are folks who do not like this idea. In fact, we can often forget, as modern-day Christians, we can often forget the thing we have talked about so many times in the last 300-plus days. We've talked about how Christianity is not a new religion. It is the fulfillment of Judaism. So all of those first Christians were Jews, every single one of them.

And we forget that because now there's this division, right, between Judaism and Christianity. But that wasn't always the case. Here in chapter 11, it reveals the heart of what's going to happen in the early church. And what's going to happen in the early church is there's this disagreement. The question is, it's going to come up in maybe in a day or two. The question is, okay, those people, those Gentiles who are becoming Christian, do they first have to be circumcised and then received into the church, then be baptized? That's going to be a big, big question in the next couple of days. But you see here, even the fact that God has opened up his grace to the Gentiles is something that challenges the preconceptions and the pre-ideas of many, many people.

And so Peter has to explain, here's this vision I saw. Here's not just the vision I saw, because that's one thing, but here's also the miracle that happened. These men and women who I preached to, the Holy Spirit came upon them. And remember when Jesus himself said, John baptized you with water, I will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. That happened. I saw it. And that's so important because again, as we continue to grow and move forward, this is going to be a really big deal. And it's going to stretch a lot of people here.

Now, the church in Antioch, again, some proclaiming to the Jews, but also proclaiming to the Greeks, this is the first place that the disciples of Jesus were called Christians. And so that's a little factoid for you, that Antioch was the first place called Christians. Up to this point, they were followers of the way. They actually will still be called followers of the way, kind of a capital T, the capital W way. And yet in Antioch, we have our second snapshot of a guy named Barnabas. We heard Barnabas, he was the one who sold his property and gave it to the apostles. Barnabas, his name means son of encouragement. And this is so important. I just think this is remarkable. It says in chapter 11,

verse 23, it says, when he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And now Barnabas and Paul are going to become co-workers as well. And I always, you know, I might mention this a dozen times between now and the end of 365 days, but I always think of Barnabas. Again, son of encouragement. His name wasn't Barnabas. His nickname was Barnabas.

His nickname was son of encouragement. And I love this description. Can you imagine, gosh, the Lord describing you in this way in chapter 11? It says, he was a good man. Imagine the Bible describing you. She was a good woman, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. The person who was the son or daughter of encouragement. In Barnabas's case, it makes so much sense that he and Paul would be traveling companions. Paul becomes known as

the Apostle, like capital T, the capital A Apostle. I guess that's the second time I've done that today. But Paul is the Apostle. You can imagine why Paul would need a Barnabas with him. Paul's going to go out and he's going to spread the gospel. He's going to be rejected a bunch. So many times, just imagine how many days Paul tried to spread the good news and was completely rejected. If you were a Paul, you would absolutely need a Barnabas in your life. If you're the person who's getting out there and you're trying to proclaim God's word and

you're constantly being rejected, you need someone whose nickname is son of encouragement. You need someone in your life who is that cheerleader. You need someone, you know, again, everyone has their role. You know, Paul writes this so often. He talks about how not everybody has the same gifts in the church, that the eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. The foot can't say to the head, I don't need you. All these things.

And Paul couldn't say to Barnabas, I don't need you because he absolutely did need him. Even if Barnabas isn't the one who's going to be all the main messenger, you have the fact that he is playing a very specific role. And the truth is you have a specific role as well. You have a gift that the Lord needs. And, you know, he makes himself need us, you know, he doesn't really need us, but he, he humbles himself so much that he kind of puts himself, I don't want to say in our debt, but in our mercy in so many ways, because he trusts you. And he, he desires to be known in this world through you and through me. And just because someone might not be the apostle

doesn't mean they don't have a role. Maybe they are the encourager or maybe they're the cheerleader. Hope that makes sense. So I mentioned yesterday that I was going to talk about Corinth and what Corinth was like. Corinth was a metropolitan city, right? A cosmopolitan city. It was very diverse. It had, there was a saying back in the day, apparently, to live like a Corinthian. And to live like a Corinthian meant that you did not have good morals. It meant that you were willing to do anything to make a buck. It meant you were willing to do anything when it came to sexual relations. Corinth was the city of sin back in the day. And St. Paul goes there. Remember, he went to Athens first at the Areopagus, Mars Hill, had this philosophical argument about Jesus, and then said, you know what? When I go to Corinth,

I will know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And he's going to this place where there are bad habits. In fact, there was a temple to the goddess Aphrodite in Corinth, right outside Corinth. I went there once. I mean, I went to the city of Corinth and they said up down the hill, that's where the temple to Aphrodite was. I don't think there was anything there anymore, but once upon a time there was. And so here's what going to church, quote unquote, going to church in the temple of Aphrodite looked like. This is kind of PG 13. So keep this in mind. You would bring your sacrifice and you know, whether that be a goat or a ram or a lamb, whatever the thing was, you'd bring that sacrifice. And there were three parts to a lot of these temples. The first part was where the sacrifice would be offered.

The second part was where there would be cultic prostitution. And so the second part of your, again, it's loosely saying going to church, going to this temple, offer a sacrifice, then have these sexual relations with a temple prostitute. And then the third part was, by the time you were done with all that, the part of the sacrifice you had brought would be barbecued, you know, and you'd have, there'd be a restaurant on the back of the temple.

And so basically going to the temple area, offer the sacrifice, cultic prostitution, and then have dinner. And it was one of those situations where I think I remember there was something at the height of this in Corinth, the Temple of Aphrodite, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of temple prostitutes there. I think it was Pope Benedict who wrote about this. He talked about how Nietzsche said that Christianity signaled the death of eros.

So eros is that love of desire, right? There's four kinds of love. Eros is one of them, the love of desire. And Nietzsche said that Christianity killed eros. eros is that love of desire right there's four kinds of love eros is one of them the love of desire and the nietzsche said that christianity killed eros means he pointed to these cultic prostitutes temple prostitution and the cult of aphrodite and the cult of venus pope benedict points out he says okay so if that was the death ofros, and that was a bad thing, according to Nietzsche, let's explain the full gamut of temple prostitution. That, okay, here are the people going to the temple to engage in this. Okay, so Eros for them, with the death of destruction of the temple of Aphrodite or Venus, yeah, for them, that Eros was needed to be curtailed. But Pope Benedict points out, he says, but what about the people who served the temple? What about those who were brought into prostitution for the sake of those people who were dedicated

to the cult of Venus or the cult of Aphrodite? And he points out, he says, yeah, for maybe for some of people who would show up to the temple and were free to leave, oh, they had to have the death of Eros. But for those who are stuck there, who are essentially sex slaves, that did not signal the death of Eros. What it signaled was the recognition that they are human beings made in God's image and likeness. And they were, they did not deserve to be treated this way in any way, shape, or form.

It was in fact, the affirmation of their dignity, not just the dignity of those who would show up, but the dignity of those who were being forced to serve in that kind of situation, that kind of trap, that slavery. He pointed that out. And so this is the context in which St. Paul is writing to these people because now there's dissension right now, but in the next chapter, in chapter five, St. Paul is going to describe a very, very, but in the next chapter in chapter five, St. Paul is going to describe a very, very, um, well, the subtitle is called sexual immorality defiles the church. Um, there's going to be, he's going to call out some folks for basically going back to and living like Corinthians. I'll say it like that. But today we have the dissension. Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? Basically here, Paul, again, he's saying that, listen, we laid a foundation,

Apollos built on it. And now be careful because you're building something too. I'm going to highlight two things quick. It's just so important. Two quick things. One is in 1 Corinthians chapter three, St. Paul says, now, if anyone builds on the foundation, this is verse 12, with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each man's work will become manifest for the day will disclose it. The day is a capital D day. So the day of the Lord will disclose it because it will be revealed with fire and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. Now, this is one of the, so we mentioned before the doctrine of purgatory and that recognition

that if you die in relationship with God, in friendship with God, then of course you're welcomed into heaven. You die in a state of grace and that right relationship with God, in friendship with God, then of course you're welcomed into heaven. You die in a state of grace in that right relationship with God. And yet at the same time, this first Corinthians kind of at least alludes to this notion that the day of the Lord, which is the day you stand before God or the day of the Lord's judgment, whether that's all at once or your particular judgment, that day will disclose how you've lived, right? How you've built. And it says, because it will be revealed with fire and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he'll receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. So the process of purgatory is simply purification. It's that sense of, okay, there are things in my life that can't be my life. Now, there's good things in your life. Those give God glory. But there are some things that, ah,

I have created a life of straw and hay, and that stuff needs to be burnt up in order to be able to enter into the fullness of God's glory and simply radiate his glory back to him and live in his glory for all eternity. Again, it doesn't prove the reality of purgatory, but it does point to the reality of a process of purification of some sort. Hopefully that makes sense because, again, this isn't to cause division between Catholics and non-Catholics. This is meant to say, we're all united on this, that there is some degree of purification we all have to go through that St. Paul is talking about right now. And so hopefully that is more unifying than it is dividing just because we

see here's what God's word points out. Hopefully that makes sense. The last thing I want to point out is maybe also unifying, but also it's kind of a Catholic thing. There's so many incredible things that St. Paul has said today. But one of the things he has said is helps someone like me. For example, I always say, my name is Father Mike. And sometimes we have brothers and sisters who are Christian who say, Jesus said, call no man your father. And we already addressed that in previous looking at the gospel, how Jesus also said, call no one teacher. And yet we do that anytime you call someone doctor, that's the word doctor means. Pastor means shepherd, even though Jesus is the good shepherd. Here is St. Paul in the end of chapter four, who says that though you have countless

guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. He even calls Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. So Paul refers to himself as father, and he's not contradicting what Jesus has taught us because Jesus was making it clear that ultimately ultimate fatherhood comes from God, the father, ultimate teacher is Jesus Christ himself. The ultimate shepherd is comes from God the Father. Ultimate teacher is Jesus Christ himself. The ultimate shepherd is Jesus the Good Shepherd, that we participate in God's fatherhood. We participate in God's teaching. We participate in God's shepherding. But he is the one true father. But here is St. Paul, who is referring to himself as father. So hopefully, again,

especially if you ever have a tough time, you're like, okay, I like this podcast and everything, but I really hate that he calls himself Father Mike. And I would say, hopefully this helps a little bit because here is St. Paul referring to himself as Father. Hopefully, again, I don't say these things to cause division. I say them because hopefully we can hear those things and say, oh, okay, I see where Catholics get some of these things. I see where this isn't contradicting scripture. I see that we're more united than we are divided.

That's my prayer. That's my hope. And hopefully you see it too. Hopefully you know that you're loved. Hopefully, this is my last hope of the day. Hopefully all of us who are Catholic or not Catholic, that we just rejoice in the fact that we get to be united in this way. And hope, well, second to last, hopefully.

Here's the last hopefully. And hopefully no one feels like I am speaking of them as a second-class Christian. You belong to the Lord. As St. Paul says today, you belong to the Lord. The Holy Spirit is in you. You are his children. You're the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And we continue to pray, God, lead us closer and closer to you. Let us closer and closer to your church. Lead us closer and closer to the truth and the fullness of truth as revealed in scripture and in the church, in scripture and in tradition. Man, okay, you guys, long enough for today. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. What a gift. What a day. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.