St. Barnabas Saints’ Reflection

History

As we looked to our usual sources to find unique historic traditions for the Feast of St. Barnabas, we have to admit that we came up empty; for as long as the Western Church has celebrated St. Barnabas on June 11th, it just doesn’t seem like there are a lot of household folk traditions related to this particular celebration. Since there isn’t much specific to St. Barnabas to write about for this feast day, then, we thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about saints’ days generally, how they have traditionally been celebrated in the Churches of the Augsburg Confession, and resources that can help you celebrate St. Barnabas at home.

Honoring the Saints

The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, one of the Lutheran Confessions, lays out in detail in its twenty-first article what the commemorations of the saints are all about in the Lutheran Church. According to the Apology:

“Our Confession approves honors to the saints. For here a threefold honor is to be approved.

Thanksgiving

The first is thanksgiving. For we ought to give thanks to God because He has shown examples of mercy; because He has shown that He wishes to save men; because He has given teachers or other gifts to the Church. And these gifts, as they are the greatest, should be amplified, and the saints themselves should be praised, who have faithfully used these gifts, just as Christ praises faithful business-men, Matt. 25:21, 23.

Strengthening of Faith

The second service is the strengthening of our faith; when we see the denial forgiven Peter, we also are encouraged to believe the more that grace truly superabounds over sin, Rom. 5:20.

Imitation

The third honor is the imitation, first, of faith, then of the other virtues, which every one should imitate according to his calling.”

So no matter what unique traditions have historically been observed on various saints’ days, there is one threefold tradition that underlies all of them for Lutherans: giving thanks to God for the examples of his saints, being strengthened in our faith, and imitating their faith and other virtues. Whether it’s St. Barnabas’ Day or any other feast within the church year, these are always appropriate traditions for the holiday of a saint.

Saint Day Resources

As we seek to observe the various saints’ days on the calendar in light of what our confessions say about commemorating the saints, sometimes it can be hard to know where to look. For as many sources as there are that are devoted to recounting the life stories and virtues of the saints, many of them try to push the faithful to remember these servants of God in a way that is contrary to the Lutheran Church’s teaching. So what are some good options for Confessional Lutherans who want to observe the saints’ days as the Apology says?

Written Resources

We hope to offer one with this blog! In our brief explanations of each saint’s day we write about here, we hope to give you a short summary that you can reference as you celebrate each feast day throughout the year. Our Saint Barnabas’ Day post, for example, offers a good starting point for your pious contemplation.

If you’re looking for a resource in book form, the Treasury of Daily Prayer is a helpful and easy place to start for Lutherans. Among other useful features, this book contains a brief writing on the life of each saint in the calendar of the Lutheran Service Book. It can also give you a good feel for the saint whom the Church is commemorating on any given day.

Second, it is important to consider where these saints are mentioned in Scripture and other historic Church texts (if at all). That may be difficult to do with some of our more modern saints, but with folks like St. Barnabas, there are plenty of opportunities for you to find Scriptural references to them. For example, with St. Barnabas, you can find him in Acts 4:32-37, 9:27, 11:19-30, 13, 14, 15, and Galatians 2:1-10.

Perhaps you’re looking more for a spot on social media where you can learn about the saints on their feast days. If that sounds like you, we’d point you to LCMS Eurasia, the Facebook page for LCMS missionaries in the Eurasia region. They frequently post a brief writing and prayer for each saint’s day based more or less on the information from the Treasury of Daily Prayer.

Audio Resources

Last but not least, we are fortunate within our synod to have many podcast resources that feature episodes on saint day commemorations and Church feasts. If you haven’t already looked at our resources from the last post, we highly recommend that you check out this Issues, Etc. episode on St. Barnabas, where the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Oschwald helps us to focus on the kind of threefold commemoration that our confessions talk about.

Whichever resource you decide to focus on during your celebration of St. Barnabas or others, make sure to spend some time on these days giving thanks to God for these people, being strengthened in your faith by his Word and their examples, and pondering how you might imitate their virtues. And, of course, this activity is not just for you alone but for your whole household, as well!