Yesterday the Church remembered St. Barnabas and also it was the Feast of Corpus Christi.
These two feasts have meaning for me. St Barnabas’ Day for three years marked the point in the year at Theological college when we would say farewell to those leaving or be bade farewell by those staying. It was a time of joy and sadness, and also a celebration that the Church was sending out people to serve as Deacons in the local Church.
Corpus Christi, for me is a time of veneration of the blessed sacrament (I have some high church practices in my background). The festival is a reminder that the Body of Christ, the Church, is fed by Christ’s Body and that we are all sent out into the world to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For the two years when I was part of the theological college community that was staying, there was a sense of brokenness on St. Barnabas’ Day. For this year’s Feast of Corpus Christi I was unable to receive Jesus in a broken piece of consecrated bread, there was a sense of brokenness also.
In those moments of perceived brokenness I was brought back to God’s call to me as a follower of Christ. As there will be moments when we feel that we don’t get ‘our way’, but our journey of faith is to walk in the way that Christ proclaimed. It is not about us, it is about us directing our gaze to Christ and witnessing to the world around us so that God’s Love is revealed to those we encounter.
The name Barnabas means Son of Encouragement, you as members of The Church of St. Michael & St. George have been following in the example of St. Barnabas in your serving of this faith community and to those around us.
Thank you for your witness, it is an encouragement to me as one of your priests.
God bless
Tom +
