The Heavens Opened

December 25, 2008

Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr

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. Acts 7:54-57

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

Piety

Suspice: Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will. All I have and call my own, You have given to me; to you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me. St. Ignatius Loyola

Study

What’s next? It is the day after Christmas…the day after one of the holiest and most joyful days of the Christian year. White vestments. Poinsettias. Gifts abounding. God-is-with-us. After we visit the babe-God-king in the Bethlehem cave, we ask, “What’s next?” In our joy-filled moment, Jesus gives us a story that hardly promises a rose garden.

The stone walls of the cave become the stones of death for Stephen. In carrying on the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus, we are promised hatred and death in the name of endurance. The first gift of Christmas is the Son-Savior, Wonder-Counselor. God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. The second gift is the cross. Without the incarnation, there can be no resurrection. However, without the Passion, there also can be no resurrection. The cave of the Nativity and Joseph the carpenter gives way to the cave of the crucifixion and Joseph of Aramithea.

The choice before us is to follow the Holy Spirit or to follow the wholly unholy world. Trust God or trust man – which shall it be? If we desire closeness to Jesus, we have to let go of all the obstacles which will get in the way of our following Him. Without this cocoon of comfort, our desire for closeness to Jesus will bring the world rushing to our doorstep not to share in the message but to stifle the messenger. As the world gets closer, it gets to much easier for it to stone us to silence. See what happened to John the Baptist. See what happened to St. Stephen.

The heavens opened to deliver to us a savior. Those gates will reopen to welcome us home after a job done well, even if the world disapproves and tries to suppress the Word. People are not necessarily eager to do what is good. These same people certainly do not like to be reminded of the error in their ways.

Action

What message must you speak to the world today? What risks are you willing to risk?

We know what is coming…We are not asked to like the prospects of life-giving death. We are only asked to endure it.