The early persecution dispersed the believers to safety as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch and Cyrene. It was then that the encounter with Greeks provided the opportunity for believers to preach the good news too. When the Church in Jerusalem heard about the great number who believed in the Lord in Antioch, they sent Barnabas to see for himself that God had given them grace. Barnabas was pleased with what he encountered. But this wasn't a one-way encounter. The believers in Antioch were encouraged by Barnabas in turn. A larger number was further won over to the Lord by this good man. The witness that Barnabas gave was faith-filled and Spirit-filled.

He followed the example provided by Jesus Himself. Jesus says in today's Gospel, "The works I do in my Father's name are My witness." (Jn 10:25) Jesus bears witness to His Father by the virtue of His being, as well as His works. Faith and works are inseparable features of a follower of Christ. Just as our Lord's death and resurrection are inseparable, our witnessing must be concrete.

We are called to bear witness to Jesus as our Lord and God. When we work with faithfulness, not only do we bring the Good News and the person of Christ to others, we ourselves are also graced by God. It's not a one-way encounter, as Barnabas and the Antioch community experienced; it's a two-way encounter - faith-filled and Spirit- filled.