The Feast of St. Stephen
On Christmas Eve and yesterday, we celebrated with great joy that God has forever united the second person of the Holy Trinity with our humanity. Humanity brought death into the world through Adam’s sin. Now, the second Adam has come; born into the world not just to get us back to level, to neutral with God but to lift us to heights of redemption. New life, eternal life, in Jesus Christ. When we think about all the barriers, the impossibilities that kept us from God, we should truly rejoice.
Joy in this world is the work of the Holy Spirit to enable us to look beyond present experiences, our circumstances, indeed to see beyond true suffering and death. We have three feast days immediately after Christmas, in this season of joy, as a reminder that the kingdoms of this world refuse to submit and as a reminder of our need for the power of God to overcome. As we read our Gospel, we read of God’s mercies of sending prophets and wise men and scribes to call men to the way of truth. Instead of receiving them, Jesus said, “they killed some of them, crucified them...shedding innocent blood.” From Abel, the first to die for righteousness sake, to the celebrated Zacharias who was martyred in the Maccabean revolt closer in time to Christ’s earthly ministry, they were rejected.
In our Epistle, Stephen had just completed the longest and arguably the most offensive of the sermons in the Book of Acts. His audience, the descendants by flesh and spirit of those who killed the prophets, turn on Stephen. Stephen, being filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up and saw the glory of God with Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He was witness to the whole Trinity testifying to the “rightness” of his cause. Jesus, standing in honor of his faithfulness even unto death, preparing to receive him.
While the enemies of Christ destroyed his body, stoning him and declaring him unrighteous and worthy of death according to this execution of the Law. Notice the spirit of the martyr in affliction and suffering. He prayed that the Lord Jesus Christ, the judge of the living and the dead, would receive him. Then, he prayed that God would forgive his persecutors - Father, don’t lay this sin against them. His words were very similar to those of Jesus in his wrongful suffering and death. He cried, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit and Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
Today, we celebrate the power of God in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that transforms sinners into saints and makes them willing to suffer all things to glorify Jesus. As we celebrate Christmastide, let us remember that the child born in the manger is now the Ascended Lord. He was born in humiliation but he did not remain there. He is now sitting in honor and majesty at the right hand of the Father.
It is this Ascended Christ who welcomes all who turn to Him in faith, who love Him because he first loved them. He calls us to follow him. Let us not delay whether it be a life of common obedience or in extraordinary martyrdom. Amen.