Happy St. Barnabas Day!
June 11th is when the
Church remembers the martyrdom of our patron saint, Barnabas. Most of what we know about this man and his
ministry to the Church is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, especially in
chapters 11-14. Barnabas was a Levite
(the priestly clan of the Jews) from Cyprus (a small island southeast of
Greece. Like Peter, Barnabas was given a
new name when he became an apostle, and, as many know, his name means “son of
encouragement.”
Perhaps Barnabas’s most inspiring
action is recorded in Act 9, when he advocates for the newly converted Saul
(eventually known as Paul) to the apostles in Jerusalem. Saul was known to be an adamant persecutor of
people who followed the Way of Jesus Christ.
He was present at and supported the stoning of Stephen, the first
deacon. It is no wonder that the
apostles were afraid of Saul and wary of accepting him into their
community. Yet Barnabas attested to
Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus and appealed to the apostles to
listen to Saul’s sincere testimony.
That is the power of narrative;
to hear the truth of transformation in a personal story and be transformed by
it yourself. Part of the truth in a
story is how a person’s actions demonstrate the change in her or his
perspective. When Saul encounters the
risen Christ, he could have ignored Christ plea and perhaps been blinded for
life. Instead, his heart was changed and
through baptism was welcomed into the Body of Christ.
However, Saul still had to
overcome his notorious past. Advocating for
one’s self in such an instance is almost impossible because, as the clique
goes, actions speak louder than words, and his past actions were shouts of
condemnation for the Christians. It took
the witness and encouragement of Barnabas for the community to recognize the
truth is Saul’s story and have their hearts transformed by accepting Paul as
one of their own.
We can see a similar situation
with the story of Kelly Renee Gissendaner, the woman on
death row in Georgia for killing her husband.
While she has been imprisoned, she studied theology and realized the
error of her ways. She confessed to the
abhorrent nature of her crimes and repented of her sins. When she asks for a stay of execution, many
did not believe that Kelly’s conversion was real. Noted German theologian Jürgen Moltmann, who
had instructed Kelly and exchanged several letters with her, expressed his
belief in her transformation. Such testimony
is powerful. Moltmann did not need to
offer such witness, but he did to support his sister in Christ.
Seeing the power of narrative
(hopefully) inspires us to be able to share our narratives. While they may not be as dramatic as Paul’s
or Kelly’s, they are our truth and help us share our faith with others. By
knowing our stories well, we will be able to discern the truth in other’s
stories, especially if they are more difficult to accept, like Kelly’s – or perhaps
a relative who is an addict, or a person who has betrayed another. Then it is our opportunity to be like
Barnabas and witness to the truth of his or her conversion. It is a risk, but well worth it to build up
the body of Christ.
Happy St. Barnabas Day!
Rev. Valerie+
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