VATICAN - Barnabas, Silvanus and Apollos, co-workers of St Paul, “shine in the host of witnesses to the Gospel, bright examples of selflessness and generosity”: the Pope’s weekly catechesis

Thursday, 1 February 2007

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - St Paul “was a man who welcomed collaboration” and in the Church “rather than try to do everything himself”, he relied on the help of many companions: some of these “who played an especially significant role in the early work of evangelisation: Barnabas, Silas and Apollos”, were the subject of the catechesis given by Pope Benedict XVI during his Wednesday Audience on 31 January.
Among the “many men and women who worked with St Paul”, Barnabas, a Levite-Jew from Cyprus, was one of the first to embrace Christianity, after the Lord’s resurrection. “It was he who vouched for the conversion of Saul before the Christian community in Jerusalem which still mistrusted the former persecutor - the Holy Father said. Sent to Antioch in Syria, hewent to fetch Paul in Tarsus where the latter had withdrawn and spent a whole year with him evangelising that important city whose local Church knew Barnabas a scholar and a prophet”. Barnabas was sent on mission by the Church of Antioch together with Paul, as his helper, and touched the regions of Cyprus, and central and southern Anatolia, today Turkey with the cities of Attalia, Perge, Antioch of Pysidia, Iconio, Listra and Derbe. With Paul he took part in what is known as the Council of Jerusalem where the decision was taken to remove the practice of circumcision from the Christian identity. Paul and Barnabas had an argument at the start of the second missionary journey because Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, while Paul refused because the latter had left them during the previous journey. “Even among saints differences, discord and controversies arise," commented the Holy Father. “And I find this a consolation because we see that saints have not 'come down from heaven.' They are people like us, with problems, even complicated problems. Sanctity does not consist in never having made mistakes or sinned. Sanctity grows in the capacity for conversion and penance, of willingness to start again and, above all, in the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness. And so Paul, who had been rather harsh and bitter towards Mark, in the end is reconciled with him.”
Another companion of Paul was Sila, Greek form of a Jewish name of which there is also a Latinised version Silvanus. “He was a Jew from Jerusalem, one of the first to become a Christian, and was highly esteemed and considered a prophet in that Church”. He was charged with communicating and explaining the decisions taken by the Council of Jerusalem to the brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. “Evidently - the Pope said - he was considered capable of undertaking a sort of mediation between Jerusalem and Antioch, between Christians of Jewish origin and those of pagan origin, and thus serve the unity of the Church in the diversity of rites and origins”. Paul, after separating from Barnabas, took Silvanus as a new travelling companion. “With Paul Sila reached Macedonia, with the cities of Filippi, Thessaloniki and Berea, where he stayed, whereas Paul went on to Athens and then Corinth. Silvanus joined him in Corinth and cooperated in the work of preaching the Gospel”. The Holy Father underlined that “Paul does not work as a "soloist", merely as an individual, he works with these co-workers in the "we" of the Church… and Silvanus in also mentioned in the First Letter of Peter, where we read: « I write these few words to you through Silvanus, who is a trustworthy brother, » (5,12). Thus we see the communion of the Apostles. Silvanus is useful to Paul, he is useful to Peter because the Church is one and the missionary announcement is one.”
Paul’s third companion Apollos was a fervent Jew from Alexandria of Egypt. At Ephesus where he went to preach he met a Christian married couple Priscilla and Aquila. From Ephesus he went to Corinth and “When he arrived there he was able by God's grace to help the believers considerably by the energetic way he refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” (Acts 18,27-28). Some members of that Church, fascinated with his manner of speaking, even went as far as to reject the others “Paul in the first letter to the Corinthians expresses appreciation for the work of Apollos, however he reproves the Corinthians for lacerating the Body of Christ dividing into opposing factions”.
“All three of these men shine in the host of witnesses to the Gospel” the Holy Father concluded. “In this original evangelising mission they found the meaning of their life and they stand before us as shining examples of selflessness and generosity. Let us think once again of what St Paul said: both Apollos and I are ministers of Jesus, each in his own way, because it is God who gives growth. This word is true today for all, for the Pope, the cardinals, bishops, priests, the laity. We are all humble ministers of Jesus. We serve the Gospel to the best of our ability, according to our gifts, and we pray that God will give growth to the Gospel, to his Church.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 1/2/2007 - righe 57, parole 821)


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