God has restored him to us
Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr
Saint Stephen is described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5) and “working great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Such a positive description should lead to a happy story. And yet, the reality of life often contradicts our assumptions.
Stephen’s persecution and martyrdom resemble that of Jesus. He was falsely accused and brought before the council and the high priest (Acts 6:13-7:1). What led to his execution was the vision of “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Jesus was accused of blasphemy and sentenced to death when he said, “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt 26:64). Stephen also commanded his spirit into the hands of the Lord and prayed for his persecutors (Acts 7:59-60). Thus, the first martyr of the nascent Church perfectly identified himself with his Lord. He truly became “another Christ”.
The Gospel warns us that we will be hated by everyone. One wonders why? The 2nd-century Christian writing known as the Letter to Diognetus tries to explain this phenomenon. The author begins with a statement that “Christians love all men, but all men persecute them” and “yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred”. Then, he compares Christians living in the world to the soul living in the body. “As the soul is present in every part of the body while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world”. And then comes the reason why the world hates Christians: “The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of any injury the soul has done it, but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures. Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong, but because they are opposed to its enjoyments”.
The speech that Stephen delivered to the religious leaders in Jerusalem was explosive (Acts 7:1-53). He reminded them what they would rather want to forget, namely that from the time of Moses, they rebelled against God. Moreover, he disregarded the temple in Jerusalem, of which they considered themselves the guardians. Stephen stated that “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands” (Acts 7:48). Finally, he ended his speech with accusing them of persecuting the prophets, rejecting and killing Jesus, and not keeping the law (Acts 7:52-53). And yet that explosive speech was made out of concern for them. Jesus said that the truth will set us free (John 8:32). He wanted to lead them to Jesus, the new Moses, their Messiah, the true liberator of all people and the true temple of the Most High God.
It is surprising and perhaps even shocking that right after the joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus we are celebrating the death of one of Christ’s believers. Why? To remind us that our faith is a way of life aiming to imitate the One who was born in the manger and died on the cross for our salvation. But, there is yet another explanation. On Dec 26, 415 AD, the tomb of St. Stephen and his relics were found and brought to the Church of Sion in Jerusalem. On that day, many were healed from various illnesses and the news about the recovery of the relics of the first Christian martyr brought joy to the ancient Christian Church.
St. Stephen, pray for us and the whole world.