Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr
Yesterday we celebrated the joy of Christ’s birth. Today we turn to the feast day of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. This initially seems like an unusual juxtaposition of joyful and sorrowful themes in the midst of the Christmas season, but on closer inspection there seems to be an encouraging message that is shared with today’s readings.
When Jesus chose to come to us as a man, he accepted all that being human entailed- the joys, the sorrows, the pain, and the goodness. He embraces in a perfect way what it means to be human. As his disciples, He calls us to follow Him and to live our lives as He did. With our discipleship, he cautions us that we will experience pain and suffering as a result of our commitment to Him.”Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake a as a witness before them and the pagans.” (Matthew 10:17-18) These are challenging things to confront, but the good news is that Jesus assures us that we will not be alone in our trials.
Because of His birth, Jesus not only shows us how to live in a fully human way, but He shares with us His Spirit to give us the courage and grace we need to do His will. “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”(Matthew 10:19-20) With the celebration of Jesus’ birth, we not only celebrate his coming among us, but the entire salvation story which includes the pouring out of His Spirit to unite us with Him. Jesus promises this Spirit and assures us that “You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22) This promise of salvation is certainly a reason to continue our Christmas celebration.
In the first reading today, we hear the story of St. Stephen and how he was able to live out the life of a disciple because of being filled with God’s Spirit. Even the religious authorities of the time were unable to “withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke” (Acts 6:10). Just as Jesus had promised in the gospel, Stephen was “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7: 55) and because of this not only was He able to proclaim the good news, but he was “filled with grace and power and was working great wonders and signs among the people.” (Acts 6: 8) It was the Holy Spirit that allowed Stephen to see God’s glory and proclaim this to the people around him. Although his profession of faith resulted in his death by stoning, Stephen was empowered with grace to give himself completely to Jesus, as he calls out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59) St. Stephen gives us a glimpse of what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus by living his life being filled with His Spirit and offering himself in complete surrender to God.
Today, as we continue to celebrate this Christmas season, let us pray for the grace to look to Jesus to help us understand what it means to be truly human. May the gift of His Spirit allow us not only to follow Him by accepting the joys and sorrows of our lives, but also allow us to proclaim God’s glory to the world around us. Through the intercession of St. Stephen, may we be able to completely surrender our lives to God, so we may join with all the saints and angels in eternal glory singing God’s praise and giving Him thanks.
Marylynn Herchline