The first time I heard the name of the town of Antioch was in the movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If you have not seen the movie…well…you need to. Assuming you like hilarious and dark humor. If you have seen it, then you may recall the scene where they were fighting against the vicious bunny rabbit in the cave. Victory required the use of the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Here is a clip of the scene for your watching pleasure:
So my association for a long time with Antioch was from this movie. Little did I realize the true importance of this town located in present day Turkey (Northern Syria in Biblical times). While in ruins today, Antioch was one of the largest and most influential cities in the Roman Empire. It was also a strong center for Hellenistic (Greek influence) Judaism. But what was so special about the city in terms of its importance to the spread of the Gospel?
Up to the point we reach in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples mostly addressed Jews in each city they went to preach. Making their first contact in the synagogues of each town. But Antioch not only had a large group of Hellenistic Jews, there were also an influx of Gentiles into the city. It is one of the first areas that the Apostles traveled to that had a predominate population of Gentiles. And it was here that Jewish converts began ministering to Gentiles and having large numbers of converts to the faith from these Non-Jews. In fact, as we read in today’s passage, it was in Antioch that we see the first recorded use of the term, “Christian”.
Earlier in this chapter, we have the story God commanding Peter in a dream to eat animals that Jews traditionally thought was unclean. God tells him that nothing that comes from God is unclean. He then is approached by a group of men who tell him that they were commanded by their Master, Cornelius, to bring Peter to his house in Caesarea for he was called in a dream to bring Peter there to witness to his household. Peter observes the Holy Spirit descending on the strangers. It is at this moment that he realizes that Jesus intended for the Gospel message to be preached to all people. Not just Jews. And he spreads this message to the rest of the Apostles at the First Council of Jerusalem.
Today is also the feast day of St. Barnabas. It was Barnabas who accompanied Paul in many of his travels spreading the word to Churches all over the region. He is described in this reading as a good man filled with the Holy Spirit. Many people were added to the Church as a consequence of the work of Barnabas and Paul. Father Burke Masters, from the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, likes to say we need three type of people in our lives. A Paul (someone who can be a mentor to us), a Barnabas (someone who we can share with as a brother) and a Timothy (someone we can be a mentor to).
Just remember then that Antioch is known for more that just faith-based incendiary devices. It is the seat of where the faith spread from Jews to the Gentiles. For without the efforts made in this significant city, we would all likely be wearing yarmulkes on our heads.
