The Feast of Saint Barnabas, kept on the eleventh of June, commemorates one of the most generous and formative figures of the early Church. Barnabas — the Son of Encouragement — was a Levite from Cyprus who sold a field and laid the money at the apostles' feet: the first recorded act of voluntary sacrifice for the common good in the Acts of the Apostles. He became an indispensable bridge between the old community in Jerusalem and the new Gentile mission.

When Saul of Tarsus came to Jerusalem after his conversion and all were afraid of him, Barnabas brought him to the apostles, declared his story, and vouched for him. Without that act of courageous recognition, the Pauline mission might have been stillborn. When the Church at Jerusalem heard that Gentiles in Antioch were turning to the Lord, they sent Barnabas to confirm the new converts. He recognised the grace of God and was glad — then went to fetch Paul from Tarsus to help with the work. Together they became the first great missionary partnership, carrying the Gospel across Cyprus and Asia Minor.

The Collect prays that, as God endued Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Ghost, he would leave us not destitute of his manifold gifts, nor of grace to use them always to his honour and glory. The Epistle from Acts 11 shows Barnabas in Antioch, recognising grace at work among people others might have overlooked. The Gospel from John 15 gives Christ's own words: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit. The feast is a call to the same generous, Spirit-endued service.