Bible connection
When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to me. “Quick!” he said. “Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.”
“Lord,” I replied, “these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.”
Then the Lord said to me, “Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
All about Stephen (ca. 5-34)
The future that dawns with the birth of Jesus does not come without cost.
For Stephen, the future meant trading his life for telling the truth to the powers that be (Acts 6-7).
Stephen was dragged before the Sanhedrin where he faced faced two accusations: 1) he had declared that Jesus would destroy the Temple in Jerusalem and 2) he had changed the customs of Moses. Stephen denounces his accusers and listeners as “stiff-necked” people who, just as their ancestors had done, resist the Holy Spirit. “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have received the law by the disposition of the angels, and have not kept it.”
The crowd, so impugned, could not contain their anger. They descended on him and took him out to be stoned. At the place, Stephen looked up and cried, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God” — the recently resurrected Jesus was standing by the side of God.
The people from the crowd, who threw the first stones, laid their coats down at the feet of a young man named Saul who later took the name Paul, the apostle. Stephen prayed the Lord would receive his spirit and forgive his killers. He sank to his knees, and “fell asleep.” Saul “was consenting unto his death.” In the aftermath of Stephen’s death, the remaining disciples except for the apostles fled to distant lands, many to Antioch.
We remember the death of the first Christian martyr on the second day of Christmas each year. This is the “feast of Stephen” we sing about in the Christmas carol: “Good King Wenceslas.”
BTW — Vaclav (“vatslaf” in Czech) Havel who died a few years back , is a namesake of King Wenceslas and also something of a martyr for speaking back to the powers when the Czech Republic was born in spite of Soviet occupation. Stephen was the first martyr of many to come in the church.
For Paul, moving into the dawn of the future meant leaving Jerusalem in a hurry, at one point, told in today’s reading. Following Jesus still means an adventurous, but totally unpredictable and often troubling life on the road.
More
From Rod: Stephen Day: The gift of Martyrdom [link]
An enacted reading of the whole story of Stephen as recorded in Acts 7:
Where is Stephen buried? Israeli and Palestinian archeologists say they found his tomb in Ramallah in 2014. Salesian monks say he is buried in a cave at Beit Jimal. Pope Pelagius II claimed he interred him next to St. Lawrence in the , whose tomb is enshrined within the church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura after he became pope in 579. According to the Golden Legend, the relics of Lawrence moved miraculously to one side to make room for those of Stephen.
St. Stephen’s Day was a big day in England. It was known as Boxing Day, the day church alms boxes were opened and the contents distributed to the needy. Nowadays is it a big day for hospitality; many people look for people who might be left out to fill their table. In Ireland some places held Wren Day — check out the link if you’d like to know another place Mummers came from.
Here is a site full of Boxing Day traditions.
On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love sent to me…Two Turtle Doves
Receiving doves is a symbol of truth and peace. That would be lovely enough. If you want to go with the possibly-catechetical secret meaning of the 12 Days carol, the two doves represent the Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God’s self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the story of God to the world.
What do we do with this?
Pray: Help me look around without fear and see my opportunities to share your truth and love.
It costs us to tell the story of our faith, or so we fear. What is your story? Spend a minute with Jesus and let him help you remember who you are in Christ. Maybe you should write it down.