The Ministry of Seeing What Others Miss

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In today’s First Reading, we hear that the Church in Antioch is growing rapidly. The apostles send Barnabas to investigate what is happening. When he arrives, Scripture says, “He rejoiced when he saw the grace of God.” I love that line. Barnabas walked into Antioch and saw what many people would have missed. He didn’t first look for problems. He didn’t begin by criticizing. He didn’t focus on what was lacking. He saw grace. He saw God at work. And because he saw grace, he encouraged others to remain faithful to the Lord. In fact, Barnabas was so good at encouraging people that the apostles gave him a nickname. Barnabas means “Son of Encouragement.”

Now encouragement is often misunderstood. We think encouragement means making people feel good. But biblical encouragement is much deeper. Encouragement means giving someone courage. It means helping people believe that God’s work in them is real. It means calling forth what God has already planted within them. And nowhere is that more evident than in Barnabas’ relationship with Saul. Remember, Saul had a terrible reputation. Christians were afraid of him. Many wanted nothing to do with him. But Barnabas saw something others could not see. He saw not only who Saul had been. He saw who Saul could become.

Later, when the Church in Antioch needed help, Barnabas traveled to find Saul and brought him into ministry. Imagine that. The future St. Paul, the greatest missionary of the early Church, might never have had the same opportunity if Barnabas had not gone looking for him. Barnabas became the bridge. The encourager. The one who saw grace where others saw failure.

And I think this raises a challenging question for us: When we look at people, what do we see first? Do we see their mistakes? Their weaknesses? Their past? Or do we look for evidence of God’s grace? Because every person reading this today is unfinished. Every one of us is a work in progress. The person struggling with faith. The family carrying burdens nobody knows about. The coworker who irritates us. God may already be doing something beautiful in them that we simply cannot see yet.

Barnabas teaches us that holiness is not only about becoming a saint ourselves. Sometimes holiness means helping someone else become the saint God is calling them to be. The Church desperately needs more Barnabases. People who notice grace. People who encourage. People who call others higher. People who remind someone, “God is not finished with you.”

Sometimes, the greatest gift we can give another person is not advice, not criticism, not even solutions. It is helping them believe that God is still working in their life.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Give me the eyes of Barnabas. Help me to see Your grace in others before I see their faults. Make me an encourager, someone who gives courage and hope. Teach me to believe in the work You are doing in the people around me. And when I struggle to see Your grace in myself, remind me that You are not finished with me yet. Amen.

– Homily by Rev Fr Patrick Agbeko