Barnabas is a name for which I have a great affection because this first name appears in my family many generations ago – Barnabas Davis left Tewksbury and crossed over the Atlantic to arrive in the Boston area in 1635. That must be the romantic in me.
So who is this fellow, Saint Barnabas?
He was one of the earliest evangelists sent out to the known world from Jerusalem. He accompanied Paul on some of his journeys. One part of the mission was to aid the widows and orphans of Jerusalem. We all have read the letters of Paul where he speaks of the saints, the believers, in Jerusalem. Money was a very important part of the earliest missionary endeavours – always their task was to send relief to poor congregations, to aid the needy wherever they appeared. That is why our reading from Acts is so poignant for us today, don’t you think? There are so many places in dire circumstances where we can give succour. So when we read of the christian congregations holding everything in common or selling possessions for the common good, we know what we ought to do, to give to charity freely. However, that is not why we remember these early saints – because of their generosity – no, Barnabas becomes St Barnabas because of his death. He is one of the earliest martyrs in the history of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. He makes the ultimate sacrifice.
What is a martyr? I am sure you know this – that the Greek word means “witness”. Usually a martyr is someone whose life is taken away because of their opinion about a commonplace in ordinary society. It could be something like donating a pinch of incense to a local deity, or bowing to what the Jews call “a graven image” where the deity and the statue are confused to be the same, when people love money instead of what it can effect in the world.
A martyr witnesses to the true god. The martyr stands foursquare in defence of god. Christian martyrs witness to the one true God whose Son is Jesus Christ and whose Holy Spirit enlivens us here and now.
We all stand for something, don’t we? Our witness is that we often testify to the fact that one thing is the most important thing in our lives. Sometimes I think my wife is a witness for the canine world, Dalmatians in particular. We here now confess that Jesus Christ is most important in our lives, more important than money, position, power – even more important than a spouse or beloved Dalmatians.
That witness to the divine is a very different sort of speaking out than anything else we do in our ordinary lives, isn’t it? I know that I get into philosophical discussions over a drink with friends – and it is never a case of “in vino veritas” – as the ancients say, that the truth comes out when too much wine goes in. But the philosophers, even though they enjoy a “symposium”, their “drinks party”, do indulge in long discussions about truth and beauty as they share a drink together. And theologians, like Martin Luther, also like to gather around a table, leaving us a collection of writings called “Table Talk”. I like to think that when we gather together, we talk about the fundamentals – like the place of God in our lives. It is especially true here in the church building as we gather before this altar table where we often meet for the sacrament of communion.
Don’t we all speak with friends about profundities on occasion? When we are at a wedding, a baptism or a funeral? I would like to say that we are all philosophers at times, wouldn’t you? Our friends might just say we are merely being maudlin when we begin talking about “life, the universe and everything.” Hopefully, when we bear witness to those fundamental truths of our lives, we come up with something other than ‘42’. Of course, we have to admit that the answer is determined by the question we ask. It is the problem philosophy and theology has confronted since time immemorial. I wonder whether our culture asks questions which expect an answer that is more significant in the fabric of our lives than ‘42’?
What about Barnabas? What did his answer to his contemporaries suggest? He was a man who travelled with Paul. They must have been friends – after all, they went on a preaching tour together. They must have spent hours on their way talking about salvation for themselves and just what it might look like for other people, don’t you think?
Barnabas was sent to Antioch from the congregation in Jerusalem. In Antioch non-Jews were being brought into the church. This was perceived to be a problem, because in Jerusalem only Jews were welcomed into those groups who followed the way of Jesus. In Antioch, there were non-Jews enjoying the company of the people who wanted to be associated with Jesus, his preaching and the life he preached – that life of fullness which we have been promised.
The Golden Legend – that medieval tome about the saints of which I am so fond – has a lot to say about Barnabas. It talks about his name and character in a way that only medieval monks could do. His story reflects miracles and a true christian example to all who might read it, but it all reflects our reading from Acts,
The apostles gave [him] the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
This is the history of the saint I would want us all to remember, his selfless devotion which encourages all around him. The Golden Legend explains the verse in this way –
His desire was cleansed of the dust of earthly attachments. … He shows that one should put off what one avoids touching , and teaches that gold should be trampled, by laying it at the feet of the apostles.
Such is the saint we remember on this feast day. Today the liturgical colour is red, red for the shedding of the martyr’s blood and it should remind us of the giving of the Holy Spirit on the people of God at Pentecost which was celebrated only two weeks ago.
Also, I think that when we consider the martyred saints, we should “see red” in another way. We should be incensed at all unrighteousness, all the evil, which surrounds us. We should be so moved that we would be willing to give all of our own so that the mercy of God might benefit everyone else through our acts of willingness for others.
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