Word to the Wise
Monday, December 26, 2016 - Dec. 26 - Feast of St. Stephen, first martyr
[Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 and Matt 10:17-22][T]hey could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke." [Acts]
It seems strange that Christmas Day with all the joy of Jesus' birth and its significance for us is followed immediately by the "celebration" of a martyrdom - the very first one of a disciple (the "proto-martyr"), Stephen! Two days later, another martyrdom is celebrated, that of the children killed by Herod's orders in an effort to eliminate any possible political rival because the Magi told him they were looking for the newborn "King of the Jews!"
I think this serves as a reminder that in telling the story of anyone's life, we usually start with their birth and move forward through the years to their death. The gospel writers did the opposite. They started with Jesus' death and resurrection and then added the accounts that they had of his origins and birth. The result is that everything in those latter stories was written in the light of Jesus' death and resurrection. When we know the whole story, we often interpret parts of it in the light of the whole. Jesus would be put to death because the religious authorities of his time "could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke." Pilate taunted these authorities with the inscription he ordered to be nailed to the cross: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." All of these things come together in this season.
When we proclaim the birth of Jesus, we do take a risk. When we proclaim his teachings, his death and resurrection we take a risk. We may not be killed for it, like our brothers and sisters in Syria and Iraq, but we may be rejected. There is a kind of "white martyrdom" in having our joy viewed with secular indifference or the hostility of a lawsuit! We cannot let that stop us. In today's gospel scripture, Jesus promises that we "will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." With that kind of confidence, even on the feast of a martyr, we can continue to proclaim, "Joy to the Word, the Lord is born!" AMEN
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