MEDITATION TIPS (Episode 288)
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 25, 2026

“(I appeal to you... that) all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)

　The Gospel of Matthew recounts the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and the calling of his disciples. Later, Jesus selected the Twelve Apostles and entrusted them with a special mission. However, we can see from the Gospels that these twelve individuals had vastly different personalities, and there were internal conflicts and disagreements among them. Paul himself worked diligently in missionary activity alongside Barnabas, but one day, the two “had such a sharp disagreement over how to treat a disciple that they parted company” (Acts 15:39). In other words, they went their separate ways after a quarrel. While this action seems to contradict Paul’s later words, it actually reveals their humanity. The fascinating and profound aspect of understanding humanity lies precisely in how contradictory elements can coexist within a person without contradiction. Did Paul and Barnabas later reconcile? The Bible does not state this, but reading Osamu Dazai’s short story “Run, Melos!” leads one to imagine they surely did.

　Melos, a shepherd living with his sister, was enraged by the tyrant Dionysius’s execution of innocent people due to his distrust of humanity. He resolved to kill this tyrant. However, his intent to kill is discovered when he is found carrying a sword in town. He is captured and sentenced to death. To marry off his sister, Melos asks the king for a three-day reprieve. He chains his best friend, the stonemason Selinuntius, to the prison in his place, and heads to the wedding with the condition that if he does not return by sunset on the third day, his friend will be executed. The tyrant, certain Melos would never return, intended to execute his friend as a warning. After marrying his sister, Melos set out for the king’s court. But floods and bandits delayed him. When he finally arrived, his friend was about to be executed. Melos cried out to Selinuntius, “Strike me!” This was because, exhausted along the way, he had once considered giving up on returning. In other words, he had once thought of betraying his promise. Selinuntius struck Melos’s right cheek so hard it echoed across the execution ground. Then Selinuntius told Melos, “Now strike me.” He explained, “Because I doubted you just once—that you might not return.” Melos growled and struck Selinuntius cheek. Afterwards, the two embraced tightly, weeping. The tyrant Dionysus, moved by the sight, reflected, “I never trusted humans before, but loyalty is not an empty delusion. Let me join your ranks.” The crowd at the execution ground then shouted, “Long live the king!” Just then, a young girl drapes a red cloak over Melos. Having reached his destination with death in his heart, Melos had somehow torn his clothes along the way and was now naked. And so, this story concludes with the words, “The hero blushed deeply.”

　Both Paul and Barnabas were great saints, yet they too experienced a falling out. Human beings are truly fascinating, lovable creatures.

 　　　　　(Contributed by Father Yutaka Akabae)