“Christmas: The Season for Self-Giving Love” By Colleen O’Sullivan

“Christmas: The Season for Self-Giving Love” By Colleen O’Sullivan

Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr

The stoning of St. Stephen (1863), Gabriel-Jules Thomas,
Church of Saint-Etienne du Mont, Paris, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people… 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, 7:58-59)

Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.
I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.  (Psalm 31:6, 8ab)

“Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.  You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:21-22)

Piety

I Wonder as I Wander by Audrey Assad

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus my Saviour did come for to die
For poor on'ry people like you and like I
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

Study

In the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, there is a contemplation on the Nativity, in which you are asked to imagine yourself in the scene with Mary and Joseph along with Jesus, once he is born.  You are there to function as a servant helping them throughout this experience.  Every time I do this contemplation, it is different from the time before.  Once, when all the work was finished, the baby cleaned up and sleeping in a bed of clean straw, Mary washed and wearing a clean robe, resting after her labor, Joseph, tired, but gazing with contentment upon his little family, Mary very quietly asked me if I would like to hold her newborn.  Knowing who Jesus was, I felt unworthy and a little hesitant, but Mary persisted, “He won’t break, you know.”  So, I took the infant in my arms.  After a few moments, he opened his eyes and smiled at me for a second.  I smiled back at him.  The next second, I found myself bearing a very heavy weight.  I looked, and in my arms was Jesus’ bloody, battered body taken down from the Cross.

What a shocking juxtaposition, yet not unlike the one we experience each Christmas season, one day kneeling in adoration of the Infant Jesus in the manger, soft carols sounding in our heads, and the next witnessing the death of the first martyr, St. Stephen.  It doesn’t sound such a jarring note, however, when we move beyond the sweetness of a newborn baby to the full meaning of Jesus’ coming to live among us, as one of us in all ways except sin. 

From the first, there were difficulties and challenges.  Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to be counted in the census, but when they got there, despite the imminence of Jesus’ birth, they could find nowhere to stay.  Once the angels announced the glad tidings to the shepherds, Jesus’ life was in danger, because Herod wasn’t about to have any rival kings in his territory.  Joseph finally had to take his family and emigrate to Egypt in order to keep them safe.

Jesus came proclaiming the Truth, but sometimes we don’t want to hear the truth about ourselves.  The Pharisees didn’t want to hear about their self-righteousness.  We don’t always want to acknowledge our sinfulness or our need for mercy and forgiveness.  Jesus hung out with the poor, the sick and the outcasts of society, and many didn’t like that.  We like the things of this world and have difficulty giving them up in exchange for what is of God.  When enough people found themselves uneasy, threatened and offended, Jesus lost his life on the Cross.

Jesus never tried to con his disciples.  In today’s Gospel reading, the Lord tells his closest friends that speaking the truth may result in our families, friends and/or acquaintances turning their backs on us.  And that’s exactly what we see in our first reading.  St. Stephen preaches the Word, but it proves to be unpopular.  He was quite the champion of the Christian faith and an ardent debate, but he was stoned to death for his efforts on behalf of the Gospel.

Action

Self-giving love is the hallmark of the Christmas season.  Jesus willingly pitches his tent among us out of love for us.  He tirelessly travels the countryside, preaching, teaching, and forgiving, out of love for us.  He suffers for us and dies for us because he loves us.  St. Stephen gives his life out of love for the Lord and the Gospel.

How does the gratitude in your heart for Jesus’ gift of himself get translated into giving of yourself to others this Christmas season?

Image credit:  By Jebulon - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10821085