The Barnabas That Wasn't
And the cost of encouragement
One minor advantage of a late Easter is that Pentecost is followed by the feast Day of St Barnabas on 11th June. In Barnabas, we see the effect of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early church, giving us a sense of the life to which Jesus not only calls us to live but also empowers us to do. It’s radical, inspiring and worthy of our attention for a few hundred words!
You have probably stumbled across a St Barnabas Church at some point. There are 139 churches dedicated to him in England. I regularly drive past one that proudly stands by the river Cam which flows through the village of – are you ready for this? – Queen Camel.
Barnabas must have been doing something right in the medieval period when most of these churches were erected. At least he has the advantage of being named in the Bible, which means he survived the cull of saints’ days during the Reformation and retains his feast day.
In fact, his name occurs in the Acts of the Apostles 28 times. He was a travelling companion for the apostle Paul. It is, perhaps, surprising there is not much of a church tradition surrounding Barnabas in the West. There are a few indications that he was associated with haymaking. This is not because St Barnabas was a farmer – although he did own a field which he sold, laying the money at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:37)
The association presumably comes from 11th June being a day when hay was being cut and dried. Not a lot of hay is being made on 11th June these days but it might well have been possible during the Medieval Warm Period (900 to 1300 AD) which extended the growing season by up to a month.
When is Barnabas Not Barnabas?
Here’s the fun fact about Barnabas. His name isn’t Barnabas. It is Joseph. Barnabas was a title given to him by the apostles. It means ‘Son of Encouragement’. This is a surprising nickname given that his early defining moment was marked by generosity. Why is he not called ‘Son of Munificence’?
Let us consider his actions from the point of view of the apostles. Here is a man of means selling land and laying the money at your feet. There are no strings attached. Joseph is backing the apostles to spend the money as they see fit. What an endorsement of their position, wisdom and godliness. It’s not about the money. It’s about the submission and trust. No wonder the apostles were encouraged, and named Joseph accordingly.
This kind of generosity does not come naturally to us. If we have money and give it away, we typically want a voice in how to spend it. I have no idea how Christians give money, but even generous givers probably give to numerous different causes and charities which suit their own preferences. There’s probably no great harm in that, but imagine what would happen if all Christians gave generously to their church. In fact, I don’t think I can imagine what would happen.
Moreover, Barnabas’s giving is a striking contrast to the dishonest display made by two more donors. Acts 5:1-2 says:
Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
No doubt everyone marvelled at the generosity. Perhaps they shrugged mostly in response. But somehow, Peter knew that they were not as generous as they made out. He challenged them, and both husband and wife maintained their lie. They were both, in turn, struck down dead.
To us today this seems harsh. Weren’t Ananias and Sapphira still generous? They may have been even more generous then Barnabas. But it’s not about the money. It’s about the deception which utterly destroys trust. Inside the church, lack of trust is catastrophic (as the Church of England is currently discovering).
We don’t really think that God needs our money, do we? He made the earth and everything in it. The cattle on a thousand hills belong to him (Psalm 50). He does not want our money. He wants our trust. He wants us to go all in on him. And his Church.
Let us finish with the words of Jesus from Mark 8:36:
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
In the light of the example of Barnabas, maybe the 11th June is a good day to review our giving, especially in the light of God’s clear bounty growing in the fields around us. And if you have a moment, look at Psalm 50.
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On Saturday, the Church of England surprisingly remembers Richard Baxter. It’s Trinity Sunday this Sunday. After that is St Alban’s day. And then Corpus Christi. I wrote about all those last year, but if you want to have a look at them, there are links below.
I’m keen to snag a few more dates for my tour of God, the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) in the autumn. There are still some dates available in October and November. Here’s a brief taster of the show, recorded at All Saints, Eastbourne last week:
Find out where I’ll be and get in touch about my coming to your church:
Have you checked out the latest headlines at The Wycliffe Papers?
Check out the headlines here:
On Saturday 14th June, the Church of England surprisingly honours Richard Baxter:
The Rest is Baxter
On Wednesday, I wrote for Seen&Unseen about how political parties simply do not understand farming which concludes with this:
Here’s my entry on Trinity Sunday:
A Murder in a Cathedral
In a moment, I’ll be mentioning a murder in a cathedral, where these was no mystery over whodunnit. 4 knights. In plain view. Not a hard one for Brother Cadfael. But I’ve also written about a more intriguing murder-mystery over at Seen&Unseen, looking at the new series of Shardlake. I have to admit I was quite pleased with the title:
And the Feast of Corpus Christi:
And on the 17th June, we remember St Alban:
How to be a Revolting Christian
St Alban is remembered on 22nd June. That is the date of his death as recorded by Bede. Where did he die? In the city that bears his name: St Albans, north of London, formerly known as Verulamium.