A Jarring Note

A Jarring Note

Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

By Colleen O'Sullivan

Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people.  Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke… When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him.  But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”  But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.  They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.  The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.  As they were stoning Stephen, he called out “Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit.”  (Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59)

“You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”  (Matthew 10:22) 

Piety

Lord Jesus, it is so tempting to stay at the manger.  New babies are so sweet, so appealing in their innocent helplessness.  It feels so good to listen to the heavenly choirs rejoice, to kneel in the straw before you.  If only we could experience this quiet joy every day.  Yet you call us to get up, to follow you through Judea and Galilee, all the way to Jerusalem and beyond. Lord, grant us the courage and faith of St. Stephen as we seek to follow you. 

Study

What a jarring juxtaposition!  Yesterday we were all gathered around the crèche singing carols to the newborn Jesus.  Today we are presented with the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr.  Yesterday we were singing Silent Night.  Today we recoil at the grownup Jesus’ words, “You will be hated by all because of my name.”

It seems so discordant.   Maybe we failed to appreciate the scope of what we were preparing for during Advent.  Our longings and expectations were not supposed to solely be wrapped up in the day the infant Jesus was born.  We were hopefully readying ourselves to experience the full depth and breadth of Jesus’ coming into the world, into our lives, at the end of time.  Christmas points the way to Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry, to his gathering the first group of disciples, to his passion, death and resurrection.  Christmas leads to Jesus sending his Spirit to empower his disciples to be the Church and to Jesus’ calling you and me to continue what he began.

Christmas leads to Jesus saying, many people hate me, and if you stand with me, they’re going to hate you, too.  But I love you and I want you with me in heaven, so I’m asking you to follow in my footsteps and to bring others along with you.

St. Stephen responded to Jesus’ call.  He was chosen by the early Church to work with the Hellenists, a group of Eastern Mediterranean Jewish Christians who spoke Greek.  The original thrust of his ministry was to see to their material needs, but as we read in The Acts of the Apostles, he was also quite a witness to his faith in Christ.  Jesus’ words rang true for Stephen.  The same people who despised anything to do with Christ or Christianity wanted to rid the world of anyone like Stephen, so he gave his life for his faith.

Action

As you’re gathering up and throwing away the remains of the tissue paper and Christmas gift wrap or heating up the leftovers from your Christmas dinner, let your thoughts dwell on what Christmas means to you. 

Is it a sentimental celebration about the cuteness of the infant in Bethlehem?  To me, even that is a false picture.  God chose to have his Son born in poverty.  The reality of Christmas is that Mary and Joseph barely found a place for the child to be born.  They were cold, tired, and hungry.  They worried about how to clothe their little one and how to keep him warm enough.  Jesus cried like any other infant.  He was truly human, even as he was Immanuel, God with us.  

Is Christmas the springboard for you to the rest of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection?   In that case, it doesn’t seem so odd to follow the Good News of Christmas with the stoning and martyrdom of Stephen.  Christmas eventually leads to our dying to ourselves that we might live with Christ.