Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr
It may seem tactless on the part of the Church that on the second day of Christmas we remember the Martyr Stephen and read the Gospel about the persecution faced by Christ's disciples and the hatred that will befall them because of His name. But it is this second day of Christmas that sheds significant light on the gift of Christmas. Sometimes one hears accusations that if God Himself, the Son of the Eternal Father Himself, became man to correct this our world, why in our world is so much evil and harm, selfishness and various other human darkness? Well, the answer to these allegations is simple: Because we humans are not items that can be repaired. We are persons, which means that we must open ourselves to God's grace in freedom and convert from our sins.
The Lord Jesus is not the repairman of the world, He is its Savior. There were many repairmen of the world, and even if they were idealists, the world was made even worse by their actions. For example, those who made the October Revolution believed that they would build a world of social justice, and it is no longer worth recalling how much evil they did, how many crimes they committed.
Let us repeat: The Lord Jesus is not the world's repairman and He did not promise that if we believe in Him, our earth will turn into paradise. Instead, he promised that if we believed in Him and held tight to Him, He would deliver us from our sins and lead us to eternal life.
He warned us clearly that in our present world sin and evil have and will have a lot to say for a long time. Therefore, following Him often means carrying the cross and walking the narrow way, and sometimes even persecution or even martyrdom. But it is precisely in this way that we ourselves become more and more of God and contribute to the fact that our world changes for the better.
Therefore, in view of Stephen's martyrdom, the gift of Christmas is as follows: God loved us so much that he gave us his own Son. All those who welcome Him, who invite Christ into their lives, become children and friends of God. If only they would hold tight to Jesus Christ, not only in the good times, but also in difficult days. The ultimate goal of Christmas is our eternal life. That was why Christ was born to earth, that Stephen might be born to heaven. May we all be born for heaven someday.
One more thought
"But they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke." (cf. Acts 6:10) It is madness to follow Jesus, because at this moment man gives all control to God in order to be able to serve Him as a clay vessel, filled only with the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is what Stephen was like: "full of grace and strength," and the scribes, despite their knowledge, turned out to be defenseless against the wisdom that was at work in this young man. For God chose the weak to show His strength and glory.
The King of the universe took all weapons away from the Pharisees who could not live up to the wisdom of Stephen. The Scribes and the Pharisees, how weak there are, because their only weapon turned out to be stones!
And we, often educated, intelligent people, we experience such astonishment and such helplessness in the face of God's wisdom, completely different from us, human, that we panic and grab the stones of stupor, rebellion, hatred, lynching on the way everything that surpasses us. We turn our backs on the Creator because we think that we know better that our vision of life is the only right way.
Oh, woe to us, proud and happy in our knowledge, in human logic and thinking ... woe!
Lord, please forgive me my pride. I apologize for those situations in my life when I wanted my right to be the recognized one, the only right one. Forgive me for wandering, rejecting your wisdom, persuading myself and you that you are wrong and that I know better.
Lord, I do not want to look for what is mine, but I want to choose your paths. Save me, Jesus, and let me know where wisdom is, so that I can meet it and then taste its fruits.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george