Thursday 26 December 2024

Today is Thursday the 26th of December, the feast of Saint Stephen, in the 4th week of Advent. The Brilliance sings, ‘I Heard the Bells’. I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men! And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The hate shall fail, The love prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men." Today’s reading is from the Book of Acts. Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ The day after we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we remember the death of Stephen. The incarnation offers both promise and threat. What have you experienced as threat or promise in the coming of Christ? This is a scene of ultimate violence, yet Stephen dies seeing Jesus ‘standing at the right hand of God’. What does it mean for your life to hear that claim? How do you want to speak to the Jesus of glory before such a scene? In the repetition of the reading, notice what stays with you, both in words and in images. Where does this take you in prayer? Stephen hands over his life to Jesus as gift rather than as loss. What does this meditation on the death of the first Christian martyr say to you about your life? Take time to speak to God about what is in your heart. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.