20181226
FEW MARTYRS FOR CHRIST
TODAY
26 DECEMBER,
2018, Wednesday, St Stephen, Protomartyr
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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The martyrdom of Stephen
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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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The Spirit of your Father will be
speaking in you
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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.’
FEW MARTYRS FOR CHRIST TODAY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59; Matthew 10:17-22 ]
It is very difficult to
be a true Christian today. The
challenges are many and the risks are even more dangerous. Christianity
in the 21st Century is reliving the first few centuries of
Christianity when being a Christian was considered to be an outlaw. The
only difference being that in this century it is very subtle and less
direct. Of course, throughout the history of Christianity, Christians
were always persecuted for their faith.
Indeed, it is becoming
increasingly difficult to speak about Christ today because of secularism. Religions have been relegated to
something private and personal. In a secular society, there could be no
mention of God. Ironically, religions have allowed secular society to
triumph over faith. They are the ones dictating how religions are to be
practised. Even more difficult is to give witness to our gospel
values of truth, justice, protecting the dignity of women and children and the
unborn, and fostering family life. Such values are rejected not just by
the world but even by some Catholics. So they may be attending Mass every
Sunday but they do not subscribe to the teachings of the gospel and the
Church. There is a dichotomy between faith and life.
Few are willing to be
martyrs for Christ today, whether in witnessing or in suffering. We do not mind being Catholic, attending
Church services, giving something to charity and doing our part to build
community. But we are not ready to stand up for Jesus or for the Church
and the gospel values. Even when our fellow Catholics are attacked for
standing up for their faith and gospel values, they often stand alone.
Few Catholics would come out to support them in public, although they might
agree with their views in their hearts. Even when Church leaders speak,
few Catholics would stand up with and for their leaders. This was the
experience of St Paul when he wrote, “At my first defense, no one came to my
support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.” (2 Tim 4:16)
Ironically, the
minority’s voice is often the loudest in public forum and social media. Not only is their voice loud but
vociferous, ready to attack anyone who opposes their views. And when one
speaks, the others will jump in to give support. They will find every
opportunity when opposed to fight and testify to their cause, such as the
promotion of same-sex union, abortion and euthanasia. They seem to be
more passionate, convicted and united in their views than us Catholics.
As Jesus remarked, “… the people of this world are more shrewd in
dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” (Lk 16:8) Although we claim that we are
brothers and sisters and one body in Christ, few would stand by us for wanting
to uphold our Catholic ethos and values.
This is because we lack
personal conviction of the gospel and lack unity in our mission. When we think of St Stephen, the apostles
and martyrs throughout the centuries, we cannot but marvel at their faith and
courage. In the early Church,
many Christians were tortured to death for
their faith. Not only were there many martyrs but there were also virgins
who were killed in their fight to preserve their chastity. In more recent
centuries, we read of the courage and fortitude of martyrs who died for their
faith in Korea, Catholics who were killed in Cambodia, those persecuted and
imprisoned to hard labour in China, the martyrs in Japan, etc. When
persecuted, they too saw it as an opportunity to testify to their faith. That
was what the Lord said, “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.”
Why are martyrs for
Christ lacking today? Why are witnesses for the gospel lacking? Is
it due to a lack of courage? More likely, it is due to the lack of faith
in Christ. When
we have faith, we would be able to stand up for Jesus regardless of the
situation we are in. When we are in love with the Lord, we would do
anything for Him as we would for our loved ones. So faith and love for
the Lord is lacking; not the lack of courage. Because if our personal
conviction is strong, we will know that God is on our side and will see us
through. That was what the Lord said to the disciples. “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.”
Indeed, it is because of
the lack of faith and love for Christ that we fail to live up to the gospel
values. We live a double
life and we feel hypocritical that we lack confidence to speak up for the
Lord. What makes Catholics lack diffidence in speaking out is that we
know that we are sinners ourselves and whilst we seek to live up to the gospel
values, we fail at times in our lives. We struggle against the
temptations of the world. Much as we desire to live out the gospel life,
it is becoming increasingly difficult when we live in a world that is sensual,
promiscuous, materialistic, consumerist, materialistic and relativistic.
So when we fall into sin, we feel that we are not worthy to witness for Christ
because it makes us feel that we are hypocrites.
What makes it more
difficult to stand up for Jesus is that the world, whilst living in sin,
ironically cannot tolerate others who sin. When a scandal is exposed, the world has no
mercy. We have lost many good leaders who are truly sincere, but at some
time in their lives made mistakes, and even though they changed and learnt from
their mistakes, the world cannot forgive their past failures. With mass
and social media, any scandal discovered is ravished by the whole world,
playing judge, as if they have not sinned themselves. We remember the
words of our Lord, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw
a stone.” (Jn 8:7)
How then can we regain
our faith? We are called to imitate St Stephen who was a man driven and
motivated by the Holy Spirit. The scripture readings speak of Stephen as a man
filled with the Holy Spirit. He worked miracles and signs. “Stephen
was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs
among the people.” He was a great apologist and out-talked his
opponents. “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 what he said, and ground their teeth at him.”
But it was not what he
did and said that made him a great witness to Christ. It was his life and
his attitudes. When
brought before the Sanhedrin, he witnessed to the Lord. “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.'” When he was
stoned to death, he repeated the words of our Lord, “Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit.” Most of all, he forgave his enemies and prayed for them.
“He knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’; and
with these words he fell asleep.” Without the Spirit of
Jesus in him, St Stephen would not have been able to witness as he did.
It was because St Stephen was so imbued with the Spirit of Jesus that he acted
like Him. This must have left such a deep impression on Saul who
“entirely approved of the killing” that one day he would remember this incident
and be converted.
Neither can we witness
for Christ unless we too have the Spirit of Jesus in us, speaking and acting in
and through us. We
need to ask for the release and renewal of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
We do this by receiving Holy Communion regularly, frequenting the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, contemplating on Christ in the Word of God and in silent
prayer. Unless we are united in mind and heart with the Lord in the
Spirit, we cannot stand firm with courage for Christ. Jesus warns us,
“You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands
firm to the end will be saved.” With faith, we can pray with the psalmist,
“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. 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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