On Thursday, June 11, many of the Western Christian Churches observe the Feast of Saint Barnabas. He was an important and prominent Christian Disciple who, with the Apostle Paul, undertook missionary journeys together in their efforts to convert Gentiles (non-Jewish people) to Christianity. He and Paul funded their travels together by working at side jobs. He spent almost a year in Antioch (Turkey) with Paul building the church there.

It is also suggested that Barnabas was a cousin of Saint Mark, the Evangelist, who also traveled with Paul and him. Although his historical activities are found mainly in the Book of Acts, he is also mentioned in some of Paul’s epistles. The suggested meaning of the name Barnabas is "son of encouragement" or "son of consolation".

He is described in Acts 11:24 as “a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” The Christian author, Tertullian, attributed the Epistle to the Hebrews to Barnabas, but that authorship is highly unlikely. His activities appear in the New Testament Book of the Acts of the Apostles. At the Council of Jerusalem, both Barnabas and Paul proposed that circumcision should not be required for Gentile Christians. After his journeys with Paul, Barnabas and Mark journeyed to Cyprus.

Christian tradition suggests Barnabas was the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church and was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus. It is suggested that some Jews there, who may have been jealous of Barnabas’ success, dragged him out of the synagogue, first torturing him and then stoning him to death. A non-canonical book called the Acts of Barnabas, on the other hand, says that he was dragged out with a rope around his neck where he was then burned to death.

The color of the church paraments and vestments for this commemoration is red, as befitting a martyred saint. Barnabas is venerated as a peacemaker, the Patron Saint of Cyprus and Antioch, and the preventer of hailstorms. He is pictured in red, with a pilgrim’s staff and olive branch, holding the Gospel of Matthew. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran churches as well as by the members of the Anglican Communion.

Our Christian commission tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. There may be no greater example of obedience to the Great Commission than Barnabas: prophet, disciple, apostle to Antioch and Cyprus, missionary, and martyr. May we follow his example as we bring others to Christ.

Written by Fr. Steve Sterry, Associate Priest at Anglican Church of the Epiphany

On Friday, May 1, we celebrate the Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles of Jesus Christ. I will be celebrating a house Eucharist, since this is considered one of the Anglican Red-Letter Days that, except for the COVID-19 Corona Virus, I would have observed by celebrating Communion at church. I am posting the following homily for this occasion:

Saint Phillip was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, and tradition suggests that he preached in Greece, Syria, and Phrygia. He appears in the Synoptic Gospels and is described as a disciple from the city of Bethsaida, the same town where Andrew and Peter came from. He was with Jesus when John the Baptist declared Jesus as the Lamb of God, and he introduced Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew, to Jesus. He also may have been with Jesus at the Wedding in Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle. It was Phillip who asked Jesus how He would be able to feed the 5,000.

Since “Philip” is a Greek name, it is often assumed that he was Greek and may have been known to the Greek pilgrims in Jerusalem since, in the Gospel of John, he advises Andrew that certain Greeks wished to meet with Jesus. During the Last Supper, he asks Jesus to show him the Father. Jesus replies,

“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”

Some people confuse Philp the Apostle with Philip the Evangelist, who was appointed with Stephen to oversee charitable distributions. It is believed that this Philip may have been beheaded or martyred in the city of Hierapolis with Bartholomew by being crucified upside down. He is commonly associated with the symbol of the Latin Cross and is the patron saint of hatters. In 2011 Turkish news reported that his tomb had been discovered near the city of Denizli.

The Apostle, James, who we also commemorate today, is one of the twelve chosen by Jesus. He is called (or, as we might say today, "tagged as") James “the Minor”, “James the Little”, “James the Lesser”, or “James the Younger” so as not to be confused with James, the son of Zebedee (also called “James the Great” or “James the Elder”). In the Western Church, this James was sometimes identified as either the brother or cousin of Jesus, although most New Testament scholars now reject this identification.It is more likely that this is the same James that was identified as James, son of Alphaeus, and whose name appears only four times in the New Testament, each time in a list of the twelve disciples. It is also possible, as indicated by Roman Catholic tradition, that this James was the son of Mary of Clopas, who, with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the disciple John, were witnesses at Jesus’ crucifixion. It is also interesting to note that Mark, in his 9th chapter mentions the publican Matthew as the son of Alphaeus. Therefore, this James may have been the brother of Matthew the Tax Collector, a disciple of Jesus.

And so, we have the dilemma of the three James. James the Greater, James the Lesser, and James, brother (or cousin) of Jesus. The church solves this dilemma by assuming that James the Lesser was, like Philip, one of the lesser disciples; he was not the same person as James the Just, a brother or cousin of Jesus; nor was he the same person as James the son of Zebedee and brother of the disciple and evangelist John. Therefore, each of the three “James” has a separate saint’s day, and today this James shares his day with the disciple Phillip.

In Christian art, this James is depicted holding a fuller’s club, a device used to clean wool. Tradition maintains that he was crucified in Lower Egypt, where he was preaching the Gospel. Since both James the Lesser and Philip were martyred, the liturgical color for today is red.

Why do we celebrate these two saints today? Jesus made it clear that, as Christians, it is our duty and obligation to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Both of these disciples did exactly as ordered, and their lives were taken, as a result.

Without their efforts, and the efforts of so many other Christians who have lost their lives and, even today, continue to die for the Gospel of Christ, the world would not know Jesus and the sacrifices that he made for us, so that, when we believe, we may have eternal life.

Written by Fr. Steve Sterry, Associate Priest at Anglican Church of the Epiphany