Sons and Daughters of Encouragement

Homily for Tuesday of the Second Week in Easter

As I sat down to pray with the Scriptures last night in preparation for this homily, I was caught up by the explanation that St. Luke gives us for the name of the man called Barnabas. He tells us that the name means “son of encouragement.” The explanation caught me by surprise as just that afternoon, while I was visiting one of my doctors, I remembered the encouragement that the doctor had given me. I left her office feeling rather good about the appointment.

Then I thought about a time when I was complimented for being a teacher who encourages his students. One of the second-year Latin students came to me for help with the passage that he was supposed to translate for his homework. I used my usual tactics and asked a number of questions about the words with which he was having some difficulty. Those questions helped him to translate the passage. As he left my classroom, he turned to me and said, “Father, I don’t know why but every time I ask you for help, I come away feeling smart. You never tell me the translation, but you always help me figure it out myself.” Naturally, his words made me feel good myself.

The name “Barnabas” doesn’t just mean “son of encouragement.” It describes him perfectly. A little later in the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke will tell us of how Barnabas encouraged the apostles to accept Paul by telling them how boldly Paul had spoken about Jesus. I’m sure that this did not simply encourage the apostles; Paul himself must have been encouraged by the things that Barnabas said of him.

Encouragement is a gift that we can give to anyone at any time. It costs us nothing to encourage others, to tell them that we appreciate what they are doing, to thank them for their acts of charity. We should all be sons and daughters of encouragement, for in this way, we can lead others to Christ.