Word to the Wise
Friday, December 26, 2025 - Dec. 26 - Feast of St. Stephen, first martyr
[Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 and Matt 10:17-22]"Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans....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 of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved." [Matthew]
The celebration of the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, on the day after Christmas is like getting a slap or dash of cold water in the face. As it is, the significance of the feast can be lost in the aftermath of "cleaning up" that has to take place after Christmas day! No one wants to think of bloody death by stoning, to be sure! Jesus' prediction of martyrdom, written by the evangelist Matthew, years after his (Jesus') death, was already being experienced in the early Christian community. It may seem strange to think of Jesus as a martyr, but he really does qualify! One of his own disciples betrayed him!
The earthly birth of Jesus gets all the attention in the Christmas season, but it is a celebration of his entire earthly life as well as placing that life in the context of eternity, as the Gospel According to John reminded us at Mass During the Day yesterday: In the beginning was the Word!...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." These beautiful and lofty thoughts are abruptly brought to earth by martyrdom. The shepherds and the Magi had to go away from the stable and resume their lives that were now changed by what they had heard and seen. The feast of St. Stephen is a reminder that this can be a dangerous thing to do! AMEN
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