The Gospel for The memorial of St. Barnabas Apostle is taken from Matthew 5th, chapter 17. Jesus said to his disciples, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill. And men, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This Gospel reminds me of how often it is that we get confused by taking the reading too literally. It sounds as if Jesus is saying we’re going to have rules and regulations for everything. But when he uses the phrase the law and the prophets, it’s a phrase that means all of Scripture. What Jesus is saying, everything in the Scripture is there and should always be listened to and cannot be changed. And what he’s saying is that the Scripture itself is so essential because it gives us the perfect image of the character of God.

Please reflect on these words and at the end of the music, I will close with a prayer. The closing prayer. Father, awaken in us a thirst for the wisdom of Scripture. Help us to learn how to use it, how to understand it, how to integrate it into everything that we do. Your word is your presence among us. Bless us with the capacity to discern and learn.

And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.