Curiosity in Lent

St. Barnabas and Samwise Gamgee

We all know the value of friends who encourage us when times are hard or when we are feeling down.   They can help us laugh again, find a little more strength to keep going, see a healthier perspective, spot where God is in the situation, and most of all help us to find hope.    We all need at least one or two folk like that in our lives, and especially in this season of prolonged waiting and uncertainty.   Perhaps we can be that person sometime for others too.

There are two great examples of this. One was even nicknamed ‘Son of Encouragement’ by his pals.   "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), ³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet" (Acts 4:36.)   Yesterday was the feast day of St Barnabas, this remarkable man who was of the Jewish priestly caste, but who was so won over by Jesus that he gave over the rest of his life to following him.   

He was Paul’s companion on many of his travels and went through much of the same suffering, yet he stays in the background, encouraging his more charismatic and volatile friend to keep going.   I am pretty sure without Barnabas there may not have been a Paul as we know him.  Barnabas was the one who brought him into the Christian community who were still unconvinced that this former persecutor had truly changed.    I love this description of him in Acts 11:  ‘He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit  and faith.’   Nothing spectacular or flashy, but someone who was good to be around , who saw the best in people, whose faith radiated in a quiet and solid way.

This reminds me of my other example, Samwise Gamgee, Frodo’s companion in Lord of the Rings.  Again and again we see Sam in his solid and hopeful way encouraging Frodo to keep going, to not give up, even at the cost sometimes of being hurt by Frodo who was in too dark a place to see the light anymore.  There is portrayed here an intimacy and vulnerability that is not just about saying happy words, or giving off positive vibes, but being able to look into the darkness honestly and yet still be able to hope.   Here are a few lines from a speech by Sam:

Sam's Speech - Worth Fighting For

Frodo : I can't do this, Sam.

Sam : I know.
It's all wrong
By rights we shouldn't even be here.
But we are.
It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo.
The ones that really mattered.
Full of darkness and danger they were,
and sometimes you didn't want to know the end.
Because how could the end be happy.
How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened.
But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow.
Even darkness must pass.
A new day will come.
And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.
Those were the stories that stayed with you.
That meant something.
Even if you were too small to understand why.
But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand.
I know now.
Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t.
Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo : What are we holding on to, Sam?

Sam : That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.