Barnabas and Paul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, … proclaimed the word of God. That the first Christians sent forth missionaries was a development from their Jewish roots. While the Jews welcomed those who were interested in the faith, they did not go into the wider world actively “recruiting.” The Christians did because they had a message they believed was absolutely essential for life and happiness. If your brother was starving you would feed him, right? Since everyone out there was a child of God the Christians felt obligated to feed them with the word of God which would save them. This goes counter to the modern mantra “you do your thing and I do mine and if we happen to meet, it’s beautiful.” If I love you and “your thing” is leading you in a direction of unhealth and unhappiness I have a responsibility to point out the right path for your life and growth. That is why we are at a “missionary moment’ in the Church today.
