20231226 THE DEATH of ST STEPHEN IS THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHURCH
26 December 2023, Tuesday, St Stephen, the first Martyr
First reading |
Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59 © |
The martyrdom of Stephen
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.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 30(31):3-4,6,8,16-17 © |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps117:26,27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord:
the Lord God is our light.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 10:17-22 © |
The Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you
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.’
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 tranquillity of his death, the lack of rancour 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 His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment