The gospel can never become a commodity. This shapes everything from how we practice hospitality in our homes and at church, to how we respond to material and spiritual needs in our community, to how we speak about Jesus to our neighbors and coworkers.
On the Feast of Saint Barnabas, we meet a man who lived the commissioning of Matthew 10:7–16. He sold his field to help the poor, vouched for Paul when no one else would, and stepped aside so the Gospel could advance. Barnabas sought not his own renown but the well-being of the Church.
Hesed. The steadfast love that will not let go, present in the Old Testament sacrifices when Israel brought it, fulfilled in the one true sacrifice of the Son, enacted in our confession every Sunday morning, and extended from us outward toward those we would love to shun.
The Visitation reminds us that some of God’s greatest works unfold quietly. A greeting, a leap, and a song, and the Lord is already in the midst of his people. Faith receives grace, and grace turns us outward in love.
The Trinity is not primarily a doctrine to master, it is a God to worship. On Trinity Sunday we look past the acts of salvation to the one who performed them. We have been receiving his gifts all season. Today we behold the giver.
The Season after Pentecost begins tomorrow. The Ember Day gift is this: we begin having seen the King on the throne, having had the coal touch our lips, having said "here I am, send me" before the first Sunday arrives.