Kelsi Vanada

Dear Friends,

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Barnabas the Apostle (including at a special service this evening at 7:00pm in the Bloom Music Center). Barnabas was a companion to Paul for a time on some of his missionary journeys in Asia Minor, and tradition holds that he was martyred at Salamis in Cyprus.

One particular aspect of Barnabas’ ministry caught my attention: his charity. Barnabas “sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

I think the best I can contribute on this topic is to share the convicting words of C.S. Lewis. He writes in Mere Christianity:

“Charity—giving to the poor—is an essential part of Christian morality…Some people nowadays say that charity ought to be unnecessary and that instead of giving to the poor we ought to be producing a society in which there were no poor to give to. They may be quite right in saying that we ought to produce this kind of society. But if anyone thinks that, as a consequence, you can stop giving in the meantime, then he has parted company with all Christian morality.

I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare…If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say that they are too small…For many of us the great obstacle to charity lies not in our luxurious living or desire for more money, but in our fear—fear of insecurity.”

I myself am very often fearful of insecurity when it comes to money (perhaps now more than ever, as a new homeowner learning the high costs of principal, interest, and upkeep). But God has not given us a spirit of fear. May God help us to give more than we can spare, following the example of Saint Barnabas. Amen.

In Christ,

—Kelsi