Word to the Wise
Friday, December 26, 2008 - St. Stephen, first martyr
[Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 and Matthew 10:17-22]Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because ofmy name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
I have heard people say, "Two things I don't discuss: politics and religion!" These folks have my complete sympathy, but I do believe they will live dull lives! (peaceful, maybe, but dull!) On the other hand, it is clear that both politics and religion give rise to terrifying violence. Not only do we see this, liturgically in this season, in the story of Herod's order to kill infant children in an effort to destroy any possible "King of the Jews," but we are immediately confronted the day after Christmas with the death by stoning of Stephen, one of the first deacons. What's more, the future saint, Paul (Saul), stands by guarding the cloaks of the stoners, and looks on with approval! The passage from the Gospel of Matthew, quoted above, is not simply a prediction by Jesus, it reflects the situation in the community around the time of the writing of the gospel! It is possible that Stephen reflects not only his own skills at preaching, but those of many other members of the community who found themselves at odds with their fellow Jews or with pagan religious authorities. Our American sensitivities have developed to the extent that we have forgotten that religious beliefs were the cause of anti-Catholic riots in this country back in the 1850's. The horrifying "holocaust" in Germany remains one of the worst examples of religious hatred taken to extremes. Religious faith can be dangerous and can make the ultimate claim on us - our very lives! We all too easily forget Jesus' admonition to the disciples to make the gospel known when we decline to discuss religion on the grounds that the discussion can get too heated or because we have allowed our culture to convince us that faith is a private matter. History tells us that faith is essentially a public matter and the endurance Jesus speaks of has an ultimately convincing effect. The martyrdom of Stephen is an eloquent reminder. AMEN!
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