Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:36-37, NRSVCE)
So, a few things I’ve noticed—not heard about secondhand, but seen 
firsthand–the past few weeks:
- A woman who picks up, delivers, and often pays for groceries for older people on fixed incomes in her neighborhood.
- A man who continues his part-time medical courier job, driving fifty miles each way to bring swabs to a facility for covid testing, and isolating himself from his wife, daughter, and grandkids. His attitude is that someone needs to do it, and he’s had a good, long life already.
- A woman who started a weekly e-letter of encouragement for women in her diocese, even though she doesn’t enjoy writing and is dealing with having relocated her family temporarily because of the pandemic.
If you know me, you may know one of them, but I doubt you know all three. In the same way, I’ll bet you can name at least three people who are taking ordinary yet extraordinary actions in this uncertain time.
There are strong parallels between Acts 4 and our lives right now. The words about the community being of one heart and mind are pretty indeed, but our brains can become numb to even the prettiest of words. But we stop and think about Barnabas, who put those words into action and gave the proceeds of his land sale to the apostles. Regardless of the land’s value, it’s not like the sale would have sustained the community for decades. But it likely helped that day, and his example probably encouraged others to step up as well.
Today, may we talk less about the awfulness or the sunny side of coping with this pandemic and, like Barnabas, step up in a small but meaningful way.
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