Thoughts for the Day

Barnabas and Saul Commissioned

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping 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 after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

The Apostles Preach in Cyprus

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.’ Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

After Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus and his acceptance by the new church, he finds his life threatened, and is forced to flee to Tarsus his home town. When some Greeks 'turn to the Lord', the church in Jerusalem send Barnabas to verify the truth of what they hear, and he promptly sends to Tarsus for Saul. They stay there for a year teaching the new Christians. We then hear that one day while they were praying and fasting 'The Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I called them."

This calling to be missionaries sends them to Cyprus and it is here that they encounter a sorcerer named Elymas who tries to distort the truth and lead the proconsul and people astray. However, Paul (Saul's Gentile name) filled with the Holy Spirit, confronts Elymas and strikes him blind as a sign of divine judgment against the evil he has been committing.

This incident should serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of discerning evil in our own life and standing out against it. This might be something as simple as a lie, or an influence, or a decision, that seeks to obstruct God’s truth. These can be difficult to prove, but it can help to look at outcomes. True Christian leaders or teachers are guided by a real desire to share God’s word and lead others to faith. False ones will often have selfish motives, and their teaching may be misleading or may encourage others away from Christ's rule of loving God and loving others.

Lord Jesus Christ,
teach us to discover truth
and to discern honesty,
in our world this day.
Give us the courage to stand up for right
and to turn away from wrong.
Use us to help defeat evil
and to promote all that is good.
Amen.