Memorial of Saint Athanasius
May 2, 2023
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Acts 11:19-26
Some of the members of the community who had been driven out of Jerusalem after Stephen’s martyrdom went to Antioch. They began to preach about Jesus, at first to Jews only.
Then some started to preach Jesus to Gentiles also as supreme Lord. Many Gentiles came to believe in Jesus. When the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem heard about this, they thought that further investigation was in order. So they sent Barnabas to Antioch to look into the situation.
What Barnabas found at Antioch impressed him deeply. Here were many Gentiles ready to accept Jesus as Lord. Barnabas needed help in preaching to these prospective Gentile members, and so he sent for Saul to help him. With Saul’s coming into the mainstream of evangelization, the whole tonality of Christian evangelization changed.
