June 11 - Wednesday after Pentecost - Collect, Readings, and Homily for the Feast of St. Barnabas

St. Barnabas, Apostle
 
Collect: Almighty God, Your faithful servant Barnabas sought not his own renown but gave generously of his life and substance for the encouragement of the apostles and their ministry. Grant that we may follow his example in lives given to charity and the proclamation of the Gospel; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 
 
The Epistle reading for the Feast of St. Barnabas is from the Acts of the Apostles, the 11^th and 13^th chapters.    (Acts 11:19-30, 13:1-3) 

¹⁹ Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. ²² The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, ²⁴ for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. ²⁵ So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. ²⁷ Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.²⁸ And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). ²⁹ So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. ³⁰ And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.  13 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. This is the Word of the Lord.

Alleluia Verse Spoken in Unison 
Alleluia. They went out and proclaimed that people should repent. Alleluia.

The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the 6^th chapter.     (Mark 6:7-13)
⁷ And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. ¹⁰ And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” ¹² So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. ¹³ And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. The Gospel of the Lord!     

Sermon: O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

On page “Roman Numeral xi” in front of the hymnal, you will find the list of the official Feasts and Festivals of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Today is the Feast Day of St. Barnabas, Apostle.  Barnabas is identified as a saint as are the other New Testament leaders in that first generation of Christian leaders. When you turn the page to Roman numeral “xii” you see that notable Christian leaders after the first century are simply remembered by their name and their primary role as Pastor, Theologian, Confessor, etc. For the “Occasions” when these people are remembered, there is no designation of “Saint” before their name. 

Returning to Barnabas, we observe that after his name is the office that he fulfilled. He is identified as an “Apostle.” An apostle is simply one who is “sent.” Barnabas is not one of the original twelve that Jesus sent out as described in the Gospel reading. We do not learn of Barnabas’ existence until after the resurrection, ascension and Pentecost. We first encounter St. Barnabas, Apostle in Acts 4:36-37 which says, “³⁶ Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, ³⁷ sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.” 

Based on the information provided for us in Holy Scripture, we learn several things. First, we learn that he understands sacrificial giving. He is a landowner that believes so firmly in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the nascent church, that he sells property in order to support and strengthen the ministry of the Church. We do not know anything about his family, but we can surmise that his conviction is so strong that he is willing to remove a tangible part of someone’s inheritance so that they and many others can enjoy the inheritance of eternal life through the Good News of Jesus’ cross and resurrection. 

This is a man of conviction and a man of faith. He exemplifies the description of faith from Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” He gave away a certain future in property ownership for an inheritance he cannot not see or physically touch. 

A second thing we learn about Barnabas from Scripture is that his given name did not accurately reflect his true character as a baptized Christian. The Apostles changed his name from Joseph to Barnabas. Barnabas means “son of encouragement.” Barnabas is a man who engenders trust. In difficult times, you listen to a man like Barnabas because he will not steer you in the wrong direction. He knows how to encourage those around him to remain steadfast in the Christian faith. He is the one you listen to when you are tired of the world telling you that your faith is wrong. Barnabas says, no, the world is wrong. Jesus is right. Jesus is God incarnate who died for you on a cross so that you may have eternal life. Don’t believe the lies. Believe the God who loves you so much that His Son dies for you so that you can be with Him in paradise. 

When it became clear that the Holy Spirit was leading the Apostles out of Jerusalem so that they may proclaim Christ crucified and risen to the Gentiles, Barnabas joined Paul in this missionary work. The Apostles sent both the Apostles Paul and Barnabas into the mission field of the wider world. Barnabas effectively and memorably encouraged the Gentiles to give up the pagan gods of myth and stone so that they may worship the real and eternal God who loves them. 

Each person that the Lutheran church commends us to remember and celebrate has something unique about them that sets them apart from their peers. For St. Barnabas, Apostle, what we remember about him include his conviction of faith and his God-endowed gift for encouragement. We give thanks to God for his service to God and the Church. 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
 
From the LCMS website:  St. Barnabas, Apostle 
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, received the name Barnabas from the apostles (Acts 4:36–37). He was sent to Antioch to see “the grace of God” among the Hellenists, exhorting “them all to remain faithful to the Lord” (Acts 11:22–24). There, through His Church, the Holy Spirit “set apart … Barnabas and Saul for the work to which [He had] called them” (Acts 13:2). Just as Christ had sent out the 12 to proclaim repentance and cast out demons and heal the sick (Mark 6:7–13), so He now sent Paul and Barnabas to proclaim repentance and healing among the Gentiles. Still, this Word is not always received (Acts 13:44–52). Even within the Church, divisions threaten it. Barnabas knew this. He was at the Jerusalem council to see that the Gospel was preserved without mingling in the Law (Acts 15:2–4), and he parted ways with Paul over the usefulness of John Mark (Acts 15:36–41). Despite all these trials, St. Barnabas remained full of faith so the Gentiles could “give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands” (Is. 42:12). Thus, by the Lord’s calling and Spirit, Barnabas lived up to his new name: “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36).