SAINT STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR
First Reading - Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59
Gospel - Matthew 10:17-22
The first reading can be divided into two parts; the first part deals with the brief account of the speech and works of Stephen which were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he could withstand any opposition and rejection, and was able to work wonders. Since he was guided by the Holy Spirit, his adversaries could not overcome him rather were led to jealousy and hatred towards him. The second part deals with the martyrdom of Stephen. He was full of the Spirit and saturated in faith, finally embraced the martyrdom in the hands of his adversaries. The martyrdom of Stephen contains some inspiring features; his total trust in God, his readiness to forgive his adversaries, and acceptance of his fate with serenity of mind.
The gospel passage also reminds us about the opposition, persecutions, and threats on account of our faith. Matthew’s Judeo-Christian community had experienced much persecution. Jesus’ prophetic words, “You will be dragged before governors and kings” and “brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise and have them put to death,” were beginning to be fulfilled. The Apostle James had been martyred by King Herod, and the lives of other apostles were also in danger. Hence, by repeating Jesus’ warning to the apostles, Matthew encouraged his Judeo-Christians to rely on Jesus’ promise of the protective power of a providing God as they persevered in Faith and its practice.
Jesus gave his frank warning to the apostles that their lives and their future followers’ lives were not going to be beds of roses. Jesus foretold three types of persecution awaiting Christians: by the Roman government, by the local Jewish synagogues, and by their Jewish or pagan family members. The main accusations against the first-century Christians were that they were cannibals, atheists, and incendiaries, that they practiced immorality during worship services, that they caused their families to split, and that they considered slaves as equals –in an empire with 60 million slaves!
Dear friends, the readings remind us today that persecutions and ordeals are part and parcel of our Christian life. The persecutions and ordeals are there because of the way of life the Christian faith proposes. However, it doesn't mean we only have persecution or ordeals in our faith journey but we also have the assurance of succor from the Holy Spirit. In the gospel, Jesus assures that the Holy Spirit will come to our assistance in the face such ordeals. This is also demonstrated in the first reading in the way how Stephen was enwrapped by the Spirit all through his ministry and even till the end of his life. The same promise is also assured for us as well.
It's also true that the concept of persecution or ordeals may not be the same as suffered by the first century Christians but this can take a different shape in our time destroying our faith and religious life, for instance, although we have freedom to practice the religion of our choice, the extreme interpretation of the “separation of Church and state” policy eliminates the religious instruction and moral training of children in public schools, allowing youngsters who are not given this training at home to grow up as pagans. The secular media, run by atheists and agnostics, ridicule all religious beliefs and practices, inflicting a type of “white martyrdom” on believers and “brain-washing the unwary and children. Hence, the duty of every Christian is to see that our children receive religious and moral instruction from the parishes and families.
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