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Office Of Readings | Week 18, Sunday, Ordinary Time | The Beginning Of A Letter Attributed To Barnabus | Faith Begins And Ends With Hope, Hope Of Life
‘Hope of life is the beginning and end of our faith.’
This early Christian text, traditionally attributed to Barnabas and likely written by an anonymous Christian teacher in the late first or early second century, reflects on key themes of Christian belief and practice. The author addresses a group of Christians with a greeting of peace, expressing gratitude for the presence of God’s Spirit among them. He states that their spiritual condition has encouraged him to reflect on his own faith and prompted him to share what he has received in teaching.
The structure of the letter points to three central doctrines: hope, justice, and love. These are presented not as abstract ideas but as the foundation of Christian identity and behaviour. The writer calls hope of eternal life ‘the beginning and end of our faith.’ Justice is linked with righteousness, and love is described as bearing witness to righteous deeds. These are not defined in philosophical terms but are assumed to be lived realities among the community.
The text refers to prophecy as a source of knowledge about God’s actions in the past and present. The fulfilment of prophecy is used as a reason for believers to remain attentive and obedient to God. The author encourages the readers to be aware of the times they live in, especially when evil increases and harmful influences gain strength. In such circumstances, believers are urged to remain focused on their own behaviour, seeking to understand and follow the way of the Lord. The virtues listed—reverence, perseverance, forbearance, self-restraint, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and insight—are described as necessary for this.
The author then addresses religious practices, quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures. He cites a passage (likely drawn from Isaiah 1) where God rejects ritual sacrifice and religious festivals that are not matched by sincere behaviour. This section critiques religious observance that is separated from moral conduct. The quotation suggests that God does not require external offerings without a corresponding inner disposition. This would have been particularly significant in the context of early Christian debates over the role of the Jewish law and sacrificial system.
In this passage, the writer does not propose a new set of rules but encourages a way of life grounded in faith, hope, and love. The authority of the prophets is affirmed, but the emphasis is on moral response rather than ritual observance. The letter appeals to a shared understanding of Christian teaching and the experience of living in a time when discernment and endurance are necessary.
The Beginning Of A Letter Attributed To Barnabus | Faith Begins And Ends With Hope, Hope Of Life
Greetings, sons and daughters. In the name of the Lord who loves us, peace be to you.
Because the Lord has granted you an abundance of blessings, I rejoice immeasurably in your blessed and glorious company.
You have received abundantly that indwelling grace which is the Spirit’s gift, and for this reason I hope in my own salvation and I give thanks all the more when I see the bountiful fullness of the Lord’s Spirit pouring over you. I have longed so much for you that when I saw you I was overwhelmed.
I am now convinced and fully aware that I have learned much by speaking with you, for the Lord accompanied me on the road to righteousness, and so I am driven in all ways to love you more than my own life. For surely there is a great store of faith and charity within you because of your hope for life in Christ. Therefore, I have been thinking that if my concern for you inspires me to pass on to you a portion of what I have received, then I will be rewarded for ministering to souls such as yours. Consequently, I am writing to you, that you may have perfect knowledge along with your faith.
The Lord has given us these three basic doctrines: hope for eternal life, the beginning and end of our faith; justice, the beginning and end of righteousness; and love, which bears cheerful and joyous witness to the works of righteousness. Now the Lord has made the past and present known to us through his prophets, and he has given us the ability to taste the fruits of the future beforehand. Thus, when we see prophecies fulfilled in their appointed order, we ought to grow more fully and deeply in awe of him. Let me suggest a few things – not as a teacher, but as one of you – which should bring you joy in the present situation.
When evil days are upon us and the worker of malice gains power, we must attend to our own souls and seek to know the ways of the Lord. In those times reverential fear and perseverance will sustain our faith, and we will find need of forbearance and self-restraint as well. Provided that we hold fast to these virtues and look to the Lord, then wisdom, understanding, knowledge and insight will make joyous company with them.
Truly, the Lord has revealed to us through the prophets that he has no need of sacrifice, burnt offerings or oblations. He says in one place: Your endless sacrifices, what are they to me? says the Lord. I have had my fill of holocausts; I do not want the fat of your lambs, nor the blood of your bulls and goats, nor your presence in my sight. Indeed, who has made these demands of you? No more will you trample my courts. Your sacrifices of fine flour are in vain; your incense is loathsome to me; I cannot bear your feasts of the new moon, nor your sabbaths.
Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ
O God of hope and righteousness,
You have planted within us the promise of eternal life
And poured into our hearts the gift of Your Spirit.
Help us to live by the hope that begins and ends our faith,
To practise justice with humility,
And to bear witness to Your love with joy.
Keep us watchful in evil days,
Steadfast in truth, patient in adversity,
And generous in charity.
May we discern Your ways with reverent hearts
And never offer worship without mercy.
Lord, we long not for outward sacrifice,
But for lives wholly given over to Your will.
Through Jesus Christ, the true sacrifice and everlasting priest,
Grant us wisdom, endurance, and joy in Your service,
Now and always. Amen.
Glossary Of Christian Terms
Barnabas – Traditionally thought to be a companion of Paul in the New Testament.
Indwelling grace – The presence of God’s Spirit within a believer, enabling faith and moral action.
The Lord’s Spirit – A reference to the Holy Spirit, understood in Christian theology as God’s active presence in the world and in the Church.
Prophets – Individuals in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) believed to speak on God’s behalf, revealing divine will or foretelling future events.
Hope of eternal life – The Christian belief that life continues after death in the presence of God.
Justice / Righteousness – In biblical usage, a right relationship with God and other people, reflected in fair and ethical behaviour.
Love (Charity) – Not mere affection, but self-giving action for the good of others, considered one of the three theological virtues in Christian teaching.
Reverential fear – A respectful awe before God, leading to obedience and humility.
Forbearance – Patient self-control, especially when wronged.
Self-restraint – The ability to control one’s actions, particularly in resisting temptation.
Wisdom, understanding, knowledge, insight – Gifts or virtues that help a person discern God’s will and live accordingly.
Sacrifice / Burnt offerings / Oblations – Ritual offerings made to God in the Temple, particularly in Jewish worship. The author argues these are not sufficient without genuine moral conduct.
Holocausts – Complete burnt offerings, consumed entirely by fire on the altar in ancient Jewish ritual.
Isaiah – A major prophetic book in the Old Testament; often quoted in early Christian writings. The rejection of empty sacrifice is based on Isaiah 1:11–14.
Sabbaths / New moons – Regular religious observances in ancient Israel, part of the liturgical calendar.
Sometimes, when I read my Bible, I pause in the reading and say to myself: ‘This bit’s real.’ It would be fair to say, I have issues with Mary, because, contrary to what we are taught to say, Mary isn’t my mother. Rather: Mum is. One bit of the Bible-text says this: And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, “He is beside himself.” … And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mark 3: 21; 31-35.) Here she comes. She is in considerable distress. I can imagine that. I can relate to that. To save her boy from whatever he’s got himself into this time. And you’re not telling me there isn’t something inside that. Her boy is beside himself. Radical. Radicalized. Radicalizing. A misunderstood word. /ˈradɪk(ə)l/ adjective & noun. 1 Forming the root, basis, or foundation; original, primary. 2a Inherent in the nature of a thing or person; fundamental. b Of action, change, an idea: going to the root or origin; far-reaching, thorough. c Advocating thorough or far-reaching change. d Characterized by departure from tradition; progressive; unorthodox. ‘He has a demon! And he is mad!’ – thus ‘the Jews’. (e.g. John 10: 20.) Come home! It’s all she wants. His family want him back now. But it is an exclusive cult: there is an inside and there is an outside; and on the outside, they are not meant to understand, lest they be converted. He has defined himself as different from anything she was. Only at the end does Jesus say to his Mum – and with savage, bitter irony: ‘Woman, behold your son.’ And then he dies. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. We ask that we might find Mary in our hearts as a Yes! place for Jesus. It is also recommended that we pray to Jesus that we may be further in oneness with Mary. It is self-emptying, such that we only exist insofar as we are responsive to God’s Word. * Last term, and put-out to pasture, the old Archbishop Emeritus came over to stay for a few days and did the odd class with us. He spoke of Yes! as the meaning of Mary’s virginity. And we were not very nice about him. One or two took umbrage. One or two got the hump. In a sense, his Grace, the Arch, basically wanted to move anyone he’d ever known from a high-place – a mountain – received theological ‘truth’ – to an imminent, human plane. Earthing the spiritual. Recalibrating metrics of life’s believability toward a spiritual sense of things. He might have asked the impermissible question: what happened? His Grace described it. God’s love as a cloud. This descended upon Mary – and subsumed her. Within the cloud, Mary capitulated utterly. She became only and purely a response to God’s love. As he spoke, the Arch cradled her. He carried her in his lap – in his hands. His Grace was a consecrated bishop. He was faith. He sat squat, a rounded man, hands cupped and ankles crossed, fingers interlocked, with parted thighs. Rumpled, washed, speckled. A lifetime’s skin… There could be no doubt His Grace spoke through long-term personal relationship with Mary. It was Julian went for him: ‘So are you saying Mary was a Virgin? Or are you not saying Mary was a Virgin?’ Nasty. No, it wasn’t pretty. Julian twisting his silver ring. For a moment, what Julian had said to the Arch simply failed to communicate. No, for a moment, that dumped on the air meant nothing. Then His Grace said: ‘There is a range of possible meanings we may understand in the question of Mary’s virginity. For example, there are understandings of the word virginity entailed in the action of giving birth.’ Julian said: ‘Duh! So had she had sex or hadn’t she?’ Trigger words. No, it wasn’t pretty. On that went for a little while. At length, Julian’s point seemed reluctantly conceded. Then the Arch told us a new story, an additionally human event, the more to baffle us. Controversially, he told us that Mary could not have been Joseph’s first wife, for this would not have been the way of things in the society of that time. His belief was that Joseph must have taken Mary into his household through pity. That would be normal, he said, for Joseph to bring a young, vulnerable girl, who is about to have a baby, within his protection, not meaning to enjoy with her marital relations, but through kindness. ‘And this story of the inn and stable,’ the Archbishop said, ‘it can’t have been like that really. Joseph has travelled with Mary to stay with his family, at home in Bethlehem, and they don’t want Mary in their house, for reasons which I am sure we can understand. It must have been there was considerable resistance to Mary. But Mary gives birth, and who can resist a baby? That’s what happened. It must have been. ‘I’m convinced that must have been how it happened really.’ Later that term, toward the beginning of Advent, we met boys who had been here before, in Valladolid, and now were in regular seminary. They had heard and recited verbatim all the Archbishop had said to them. Their spot-on impressions of each of the fathers were scathing. […]
The parables constitute the heart of Jesus’ teaching. In our time, the stories remain to us strikingly vivid and fresh, touching us with an immediate sense of Jesus’ humanity. Indeed, such is their personal character that we have in the parables a sense of being with Jesus.= [ … ]
The poem centres on a reflection of sin and redemption, using a natural metaphor to illustrate the poet’s spiritual journey. In the opening lines, the poet likens himself to someone who stands at the edge of a dark, shadowy grove but looks beyond it toward the sky. This image suggests the poet’s desire to move past his sins, as represented by the grove, and seek out the purity and grace symbolized by the open sky above. Rather than remaining fixated on his wrongdoings, he wishes to direct his gaze toward salvation [ … ]
