“Is Your Nickname Barnabus?”
Acts 4; 23-37
April 20, 1997
My youngest son and his wife are expecting a baby in a few weeks. I’ve been intrigued by how they are going about choosing a name for their child. They have been looking through books, consulting family records, and gathering all the latest California-type names. Weekly, we receive a phone call about some of the more exotic choices: Kellyona Douglas, Quincey Douglas, and (after the : NCAAs) Miles Douglas. Whenever we’ve been told one of these names, we’ve done our best to appear noncommittal.
One thing experience has taught us is that whatever name they choose, in a few short years, this youngest Douglas is probably going to end up with a nickname. And that nickname may or may not have any relationship to what his or her parents have chosen.
I had a roommate in Seminary called Rabbit. His given name was Richard. In grade school, he was a fast runner, and the name just stuck with him. Another friend of my wife was always called $snowflake. Her real name was Janet. Snowflake loved to ski, and she was always sort of flaky. The interesting thing about nicknames is that through the years, they often become the ones they are known by and we tend to forget their given names.
The same thing happened to the person in our first lesson. If I were to mention his name (unless you were listening attentively) I doubt that many would recall his given name. Joseph is what his parents called him. One of the problems is that there are no fewer than sixteen Josephs mentioned in Scripture, everyone from Mary’s husband, to the son of Jacob who was a ruler in Egypt, to a Joseph who lent his tomb for the burial of Jesus.
This particular Joseph was given a nickname by the members of the early church. And it’s instructive to reflect on just how he received his nickname.
Let me set the stage. Way back in the beginning of the church, they were faced with some huge problems. I’ll bet you will not be surprised when I tell you they were financial in (Why is that the church always struggles to make ends meet?)
But back to the story. The Church that started at Pentecost was made up of Jews who had been convinced that the carpenter from Nazareth had risen and was the Messiah. Out of this experience of the Risen Christ, they came together in a very close, loving community. But this community was viewed by many in the larger population as a threat to national unity. And so, those who were influential did their best to nip the movement right at the start. Economic reprisals were one of the Chief tools for discouraging radicals, just as they are today. To make matters worse for the small community, the church maintained a vision of sharing all things in common. Translated, this meant that each member bore the hurts and hardships of one another. This seemed like an exciting vision until more and more people became unemployed. Then the vision seemed more of a pipe dream and less of a unifying goal. This economic problem presented the church with one of the low points in the early community’s life.
When things looked darkest and Sunday appeals seemed to be falling on deaf ears, Joseph stepped forward. He sold a piece of property, presented the money to the Apostles, and paved the way for one of the finest moments in the history of the church. Joseph’s generosity inspired many others. It was because of ads magnificent act of generosity that Joseph was given the nickname Barnabus, which literally means son of encouragement.
Let me attempt to point out three reasons Joseph was given the nickname.
First, Joseph believed in the vision, that dream of what the church could be, and with God/s help, would be. Believing in the vision means more than simply acknowledging that it’s a good idea. Believing in the Vision means being committed to doing whatever it takes to accomplish the dream. Believing in the vision means exercising one’s imagination to see things that aren’t there, and to commit to things that are yet to be built.
Second, Joseph was willing to move forward now, and not wait until everything was nailed down. We might even say that he was willing to act on his hunches.
There is a piece of time-worn wisdom of the Church that goes, “Don’t look before you leap, you will decide to sit down.” Most of us have had an experience of stopping and considering all the pros and cons of a situation… and then never moving forward. Bob Cox, our Senior Warden, is fond of reminding us of “the paralysis of analysis.” Those inner voices that remind us of the “what ifs?” Can’t you just hear those voices saying to Joseph, What if you need the money for your old age? Or, “What if the Apostles don’t spend your money wisely?” Joseph, though, was able to move ahead on the promises of God and not get bogged down by the “what ifs.”
My third point is that Joseph had faith in the future. At a time when everybody else was feeling a sense of despair, Joseph possessed a sense of optimism and hope. At a time when the noble experiment of the Christian community was about to fall apart, Joseph stepped forward and laid his resources on the line.
I’ve said it before, one’s expectations of the way things will turn out often determine your present actions. If you think a situation is doomed to failure, your behavior is usually cautious and protective. If you think something will turn out well, you’re much freer with whatever you put into it. And Joseph, if nothing else, had great expectations.
So this is why the early church called him Barnabas. Before it was clear who he really was, his parents had named him Joseph. But as his real self emerged, the nickname Barnabas, son of encouragement, became a truer way of identifying this hero of the church.
St Philips has had a number of Barnabus people in its history – those heroes who have stood up, come forward, and made significant contributions to our ongoing life. People like John and Helen Murphey, Walter Roedeger, Mary Huntington, Harry Sinclair, and many others that I can’t recall at this time. They have been our Barnabas’s and have helped to make this place what it is today. And they will be remembered as Sons and Daughters of Encouragement.
But what about yourselves? I guess after 20 years that I can be frank with you. There are a number of people within the sound of my voice who have the resources to act in a Barnabus fashion, to put significant monies, 50, 20, 10 thousand dollars on the line for the future of this community. I believe there are some of you who if asked, would join the order of Barnabus, would be proud to be known as sons and daughters of encouragement. And so I’m asking… and counting on you to step forward.
How about it? . . .