20171226
THE DEATH OF ST STEPHEN IS THE BIRTHDAY OF THE
CHURCH
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59 ©
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Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles
and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to
debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the
synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia.
They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and
because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. They were infuriated when
they heard this, and ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen,
filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and
Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and
the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of
the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all
rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down
their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning him,
Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 30(31):3-4,6,8,16-17 ©
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Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mighty stronghold to save me,
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.
As for me, I trust in the Lord:
let me be glad and rejoice in your love.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.
Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your love.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps117:26,27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord:
the Lord God is our light.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 10:17-22 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of men: they will hand you
over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged
before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the
pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to
say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it
is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in
you.
‘Brother
will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise
against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men
on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.’
26 DECEMBER, 2017, Tuesday, St Stephen, Protomartyr
THE DEATH OF ST STEPHEN IS THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 6:8-10, 7:54-59; MATTHEW 10:17-22
]
There is a
close relationship between birth and death. Both are not
contradictory or opposed. Indeed, birth and death are two sides of the
same coin. Every birth is oriented towards death; and every death is
oriented to new life. It is within this perspective that we
celebrate the feast of Christmas followed by the feasts of martyrdom in the
persons of St Stephen, the first martyr, then followed by St John who was a
martyr of sorts and the Holy Innocents, another kind of martyrdom.
Unless, we grasp the close link between life and death, we will find the feasts
after Christmas quite a misfit for the season.
Every birth
is a celebration of life. This is the case for celebrating the birth of
Christ at Christmas. We celebrate His birth because His coming to
this earth is to give us life. He said, “I came that they may have life,
and have it abundantly.” (Jn 10:10) Jesus’ birth enables us all to live our lives
authentically and purposefully. His life therefore is the cause of
bringing us life. But we have this life only because He emptied His life
for us. Accordingly, every one of us is called to live for others.
No one is called to live for himself. In a special way, we are called to
live for God. That was how Jesus lived His life. He was a man
for others and a man totally for God. St Paul wrote, “None of us
lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the
Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we
die, we are the Lord’s.” (Rom 14:7f)
Consequently,
Christ’s birth is associated with the death and martyrdom of St Stephen, the
first martyr of the Church, followed by the Feast of the Holy Innocents. They are testimonies of
those who have truly benefitted from the life of Christ. In imitation of
Christ, they too gave their lives for God and for their fellowmen. He
imitated Jesus in his life and in his death. The way he died was almost
similar to that of his master. He too was brought before the Sanhedrin.
He too spoke of his vision of the heavenly Jerusalem. He “gazed into
heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can
see heaven thrown open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of
God.’” In the gospel, we read that Jesus said the same thing. “I
am; and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and
coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Mk 14:62)
And like Jesus at his death, Stephen also commended his soul to the heavenly
Father and prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies. He said, “’Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not
hold this sin against them’; and with these words he fell asleep.”
It is significant that just as Jesus poured out His Spirit into the
world upon His death, Stephen poured out his spirit into Saul when he said,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” So too we give our spirit to others at
our death.
Like Jesus,
St Stephen gave his life for the conversion of his people. Indeed, in the stoning
of St Stephen, we note that St Luke remarked that “Saul entirely approved of
the killing.” It must had been a moving event for Saul when he saw
how Stephen died. The tranquility of his death, the lack of rancor for
his enemies, the serenity of his look must have edified Saul so much that he
started to think whether Stephen’s testimony about Jesus could really be true.
It must have set him thinking and pondering about the significance
of his death. This too was the case of Jesus’ death. We read, “when the
centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said,
‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” (Mk 15:39)
His death gave birth to Paul who, before his conversion, was called Saul.
His death made it possible for Christianity to spread beyond the confines of
Palestine. It is thus appropriate that the Church celebrates the Feast of
St Stephen after Christ’s birth because his death brought about the conversion
of many.
The death of
St Stephen therefore became his real birthday because he entered into the
fullness of life. This explains why the Church does not celebrate the
birthdays of saints but their death anniversaries, except for Mary and St John
the Baptist because they were filled with the Holy Spirit in the wombs of their
parents. Their death was their entrance into the new life promised
to them by Christ. This heavenly birthday into heaven is a greater
celebration than natural birth on earth. Truly, Christ’s birth was to
prepare us for the heavenly birthday when we are given new life.
We too are
called to begin the process of death in baptism when we die to our sins. To give life to others, we
need to die. We need to acquire the Spirit of Jesus,
which was given to us at His death and at our baptism. With the
Holy Spirit, we will be able to do what Stephen and the apostles did in giving
their lives for the gospel. We read in the Acts that “Stephen was filled
with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the
people.” In the early Church, the Holy Spirit was noticeably active
at work in the lives of the Christians. The early Christian communities
were very much alive in the power of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit
were exercised in the different communities.
Under the
same power of the Holy Spirit, they were ready to witness for Christ with
boldness even under persecution. In fact, their faith in Christ was so strong
that they saw persecution as the occasion for witnessing. “Jesus said to
his apostles: ‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to Sanhedrin and scourge
you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my
sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans.’’’ Like Stephen
and the early Christians, they considered it a great privilege to suffer for
Christ. St Peter wrote to the Christians, “Always be prepared to make a
defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do
it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that,
when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put
to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God’s
will, than for doing wrong. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” (1 Pt 3:15b-18a)
Often,
persecution comes from within, not just without. ”Brother will betray
brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their
parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of
my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Our loved ones
and our fellow Catholics will misunderstand us. This is true even when we are
serving in the Church. Because of the selfishness and sinfulness of men,
even when doing good we are misjudged. Indeed, when we are misunderstood
or falsely accused, we must not retaliate but remain firm to the end. We must
make excuses for them and pray for them as St Stephen did for his
enemies. We must not react with anger and hatred for our enemies and
detractors because evil cannot be overcome by evil.
Finally, we
must not worry too much about the future. Everything is in God’s
hands.
We only need to rely on the grace of God. We are called to entrust everything
to the power of God as Stephen did. We must pray with the psalmist, “Into
your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Be a rock of refuge for me, a mighty
stronghold to save me, for you are my rock, my stronghold. For your
name’s sake, lead me and guide me.” Indeed, the opponents of
Stephen “found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and
because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. They were infuriated when
they heard what he said, and ground their teeth at him.” This is the
assurance of our Lord for those who rely on His grace and strength. “But
when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what
you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you
who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in
you.” Let God be our vindicator and judge. “My
life is in your hands, deliver me from the hands of those who hate me. Let your
face shine on your servant. Save me in your love.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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