Barnabas: The Encourager

Matt Sturtevant, preaching

August 16, 2009

Acts 11:19-26

JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy has been a classic in Christian literature since it was published in the 50’s.  The popularity of the trilogy has again soared in the last decade with the production of Peter Jackson’s movies about Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, wizards, and magical rings.

It is indeed a classic in Christian fiction because of its powerful retelling of ancient Christian themes of the clash of good vs. evil, the sinfulness of every person, and the power of sacrifice.  But a theme that sometimes gets overlooked is Tolkien’s spot-on description of the importance of relationships.

In his first book in the series, we meet the Fellowship of the Ring, a motley crew of travelers whose task it is to return the dark ring into the fires from whence it came.  In this character study of these 9 individuals, we meet not only imaginary figures, but we meet us.  We meet our friends and family.  We meet those with whom we have regular relationships.  We meet those whom God has placed in our lives for support and companionship.  Let’s take a closer look at these characters as we look at those they represent in our lives.

• Gandalf, the wise wizard, reminds us how much we need a mentor, the wise one who imparts knowledge to us, as he gives of himself to the young hobbit Frodo.
• On the flip side, Frodo reminds us how much we need a protégé; that not only is the act of receiving wisdom important, but so is the act of giving wisdom.  We need someone who we can mentor.
• The blunt and forceful dwarf Gimli reminds us that we need someone to be our motivator, someone to push us past where we think we should go.
• Tolkien even reminds us that we need a reject, one of the “least of these”, someone who is despicable and apparently unredeemable in the eyes of all those around.  Even the ugly and twisted Gollum is an unofficial part of the fellowship, taking turns following and guiding the ring to its doom.
• We are also reminded that we need “little ones”, silly and imaginative and fun children or child-like individuals who can give us perspective and help us get over our sense of superiority.  The Hobbits Merry and Pippin remind us of this fact.
• Frodo’s fellow hobbit and best friend Sam reminds us that we have to have someone who will never leave our side, through think and thin, for better or worse.  We need a close friend.
• And even the quiet elf Legolas, always steady, offering hope when all seems dim, reminds us how much we need an encourager.

If we are lucky, this is our “fellowship”.  These are the people with whom God has blessed us.  These are the ones who accompany, if not carry us through the tasks of our lives.  These are the saints, the great cloud of witnesses, who help us through life.  And we ought to pay attention to them.  We often go through life thinking all we need is our own wits and intelligence.  But Simon and Garfunkel got it wrong – we are not each rocks…we are not each islands.  Maybe if they had figured that out sooner, they would not have been in and out of relationship for so many years…  John Donne’s poem got it right – no man is an island.  We cannot survive on our own.
Unfortunately, we as Christians are often the worst offenders of this hoax.  We think all we need is “me and Jesus” and we skip over the passages of the Bible that insist otherwise.  Talking about “friends” and “relationships” seems well and good for Oprah or your average soap opera, but it is not the stuff of faith…right?  Wrong!  Relationships are at the heart of our faith…from our relationship to God to the relational language of the three persons of the Trinity to the life of Christ and the disciples.  “Me and Jesus” is not Biblical...nowhere does the Bible suggest that we don’t need relationships.  If Jesus had an entourage of 12, do we think we can do better without our own “fellowship?”  So, like Tolkien, I would suggest we ought to mine the Bible for the truths that it speaks about relationships.

My suggestion is not original.  Leonard Sweet has written a book entitled 11 Indispensible Relationships You Can’t Be Without.  It is serving as a companion study for some of the Sunday school classes during these next several weeks.  And it serves as our guide for these weeks in worship.  According to Sweet, we need 11 distinct relationships – we edited them down to 7 – that are remarkably close to the examples from the Fellowship of the Rings: a protégé, a mentor, a motivator, reject, a “little one”, a true friend.  And today’s relationship – we need an encourager.

To that end, let me tell you a story.  Or more specifically, let Mark tell you the story…

Do you have one of those people in your life who you can count on to be there, count on to tell you what you need to hear?  I am not talking about those people who tell you what they think you want to hear.  And I am not talking about those people who are always perky and bubbly and positive.  I am talking about someone who will listen to you, look you in the eye, and give you just the right words to get through whatever you are going through.  For me, that person has always been my cousin Joseph.  He has been my rock, my encourager.  Let me tell you about Joseph…now wait a minute, you would probably not know him by his family name.  You would know him as Barnabas.  Oh, well, even that is a good story.  I’ll get to that in a minute.

Joseph – Barnabas – was a Jew from the island of Cyprus.  But he was more than just your average Jew – he was a Levite.  His job was to assist the priest in the work of worship.  The priest was the one who stood up before the people and served as intermediary between them and God, but it was the Levites who made their job possible, providing assistance, support, and encouragement in their role.  Barnabas was the silent partner in the ministry to the worshippers.
 
One day, though, Barnabas’ understanding of worship and faith and even God changed forever.  It happened at Pentecost, when he was in Jerusalem celebrating the Jewish holiday.  The disciples experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit and began preaching.  Barnabas heard in his own language – the language of his childhood -- all that God had done for him in Christ and what his faith was really about.  He became a sold-out believer and joined the group of believers who met in Jerusalem.  Some called them The Way.  Others thought they were just a part of a Jewish sect.  But they simply understood themselves to be called to a new way of life.  The way of Christ.  And pretty soon these believers came to find out what we already knew.  There were those in the community who were in need.  Quickly, quietly, Barnabas sold a field and brought the money to the leaders of the community so they could help those in need.  That’s when the apostles changed his name.  From Joseph to Barnabas – which means Son of Comfort.  They caught on about what Barnabas was really about: caring, comforting, encouraging, and maturity.  People continually looked to him when things got anxious and they needed a steadying influence.

And boy, did things get anxious.  Maybe you have heard of Paul?  When I first heard of him, he was a rabid Pharisee, of course he was called Saul in those days, a hunter of those who considered themselves to be a part of The Way.  But just like Barnabas, he, too was changed by an experience with the Spirit and he quickly came to realize that those he hunted as heretics had it right.  He was forever changed and wanted to become a salesperson for these believers, to tell everyone what experience he had had.  So he walked right into the community of Jerusalem believers and signed up for duty.  Needless to say, they were more than a little suspicious.  Why should they trust him?  Who could vouch for him?  They had no reason to believe what he said.  That is, until Barnabas stepped in.  He listened to what Paul had to say, trusted the word of the Holy Spirit, and accepted him.  And when he looked them in the eye and told them to trust Paul, they did.  And on the words of this wise, mature believer, the rest of the community accepted him as well.

And that was only the beginning.  As new communities of believers spread across the region, some of the Jerusalem faithful were suspicious.  They heard about a community in Antioch, up north, and wondered if their ministry was legit.  Who did they send to make an assessment?  Barnabas.  And his acceptance of what he saw there encouraged the faithful in Jerusalem to support them.  On Barnabas’ recommendation, the community flourished.  Their ministry to the Gentiles in the region caught on like wildfire.  But these Gentiles were a new to the faith and little sloppy with their theology.  So Barnabas looked them in the eye and told them what they needed was Paul.  A knowledgeable and clear teacher.  So began the missionary work of this incredible partnership.  Barnabas talked Paul into coming to Antioch and teaching those in that community.  These new believers had a new name.  Though it started as derisive name-calling, they gradually accepted the tag: Christians.  “Little Christs.”  Followers of the Way of Jesus Christ.  And behind it all stood the quiet rock – Barnabas.
 
The missionary work of Barnabas and Paul continued throughout the region.  They travelled back to Barnabas’ homeland of Cyprus, and on throughout the region, preaching to the Jews in the synagogues, telling them the truth about their God.  Wherever they went, they started new churches.  They were like a herald’s trumpet: Paul was the mouthpiece – the loud and brash and charismatic teacher and preacher.  But Barnabas was the air that made the sound possible.  In one of the communities where they preached, the townspeople were so impressed that they thought they were gods.  Paul must be Hermes – the messenger and spokesman of the gods!  And who did they call Barnabas?  Why, of course, Zeus, the king of the gods, the clear and mature leader between the two.  But Barnabas always reflected away such attention.  He consistently and quietly supported and encouraged Paul, and kept him grounded throughout the journey…
Paul was masterful of speech.  Barnabas reminded him what he needed to say.
Paul knew theology and how to teach it.  Barnabas knew people.
Paul was decisive and clear.  Barnabas was measured and thoughtful.
Paul was quick to leave behind everything, including those who were not as radical in their faith.
Barnabas was ready to forgive those who fell away.

I should know.  My name is Mark and I was the reason that the powerful missionary team of Paul and Barnabas split up.  I accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their journey together and I was excited to join them when we left for Cyprus.  But I made some mistakes because of my youth and because I was not ready to give up everything yet.  I left them on the mission trail and returned home.  For Paul, it was a sign of my inability to do the work that Christ expected.  For Barnabas, it was a mistake that he was willing to look past.  So they each went their own ways.  Paul took another companion, Silas, and continued to preach to Gentiles and plant new churches.

I was devastated.  But Barnabas looked me in the eye and told me not to worry about the past, that Christ had a new ministry in mind for me and that the Spirit was calling us to continue the work that we had started together.  It was exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the right moment.

I hope you have someone who does that for you.  I hope you have someone who will encourage you when you are ready to give up.  I hope you have someone who God has placed in your life who knows you and listens to you well enough to know exactly what you need to hear.  Someone to slap you on the back and remind you of a funny story when you need a smile.  To remind you to be still when you need to be still.  To get up and move when it is time to go.    There are plenty of people in the world who will speak fear or cynicism in to your life.  You need someone who will speak hope.  You need a Barnabas.

Eventually, all was forgiven between these friends and even between Paul and me.  It goes to show that God can create unity when all we have is discord.  And it was probably for the better, anyway.  When Paul and Silas went their way, Barnabas and I returned to continue the ministry with the churches we had planted together.  They were still trying to figure out how to be faithful in trying times.  They were anxious and confused.  They needed encouragement.  They needed a rock.  They needed Barnabas.

So do we.