St. Stephen's Witness

It is the day after Christmas and the Church celebrates the martyrdom of St. Stephen described in the first reading, Acts 6: 8-10; 7: 54-59.  In the Gospel itself, Matthew 10: 17-22, Jesus asks us to "[b]eware 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."  Eight days after his birth, Jesus is brought to the temple and Simeon says to Mary:  "You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected--and a sword will pierce your own soul too--so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare" (Luke 1: 14-15).

Jesus also tells us in the Gospels not to be afraid when  you encounter troubles in the world, as He, too, encountered troubles and conquered them. In the darkest day of our salvation history, when Jesus hung on the cross dying, He, like Stephen, said to God: "Into your hands I commend my spirit." Three days later Jesus conquered suffering and death and rose again. Forty days later, Jesus ascended into heaven. Stephen, as he faced his murderers, was "filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of God standing at the right hand of God.'"

May we like Jesus and like Stephen commend our spirits to the Lord when we, in turn, are at death's door waiting to pass through death, by whatever means, and enter eternal life. Like Stephen, when we are dying, may we look to heaven and see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father waiting for our return to our eternal home.  In preparation for that moment, may we, throughout life's difficulties turn to the Lord for help.  May we always take refuge in the Lord and focus on the Lord when we are facing challenges instead of locking ourselves into our anger, feeding it and thus succumbing to temptations we would otherwise be able to resist because God is always at our side, as He was for St. Stephen.

Praising God in all of the Vicissitudes of life

Today's praises in place of the responsorial psalm are from Daniel 3: 52, 53, 54, 55, 56. One of the blessings is:  Blessed are you who look into the depth from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."

As I encountered the difficulties of this day and lost my "cool," I did not, for sure, pray a blessing or praise God.  I felt anything but blessed nor did I feel like blessing the person who "got under my skin."  I do know, however, that God sees into the depth of this person. He sees what I do not see and He loves her unconditionally.  He reads her heart--a heart that overflows with love for all and for whom she will go to any length to show her love.

The other lesson that God may be trying to teach us when "turbulence" appears is that it is important to praise God in both the pleasant or unpleasant situations of any given day! Truly we need to say: Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.  
  

Our Journey of Faith

In today’s first reading, Acts 12: 1-11, King Herod, after killing James, the brother of John, imprisons Peter, as he believed that he was pleasing the people by murdering James.  He intended, most likely, to put Peter to death also.  God sends angels to free Peter from prison.   In the second reading, 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 17-18, Paul realizes that his earthly existence is coming to an end and gives testimony that he has “competed well,” has “kept the faith,” and “finished the race.”  A “crown of righteousness,” he states to Timothy, “awaits me, which the Lord the just judge, will award to me on that day….”

You and I are on the same journey as Peter and Paul, whose feast day we celebrate today. God does not promise us that the journey will be easy. Like Peter and Paul we will, at times,  encounter  those who misunderstand us, judge us wrongly and, yes, even mistreat us, and  imprison us in  “cells” of judgment, and disfavor, accusing us of  being unfaithful servants of our God and not measuring up to their expectations.

Peter and Paul kept their eyes on the Lord and on the finish line: their living according to God’s will and their  birth into eternal life through death and resurrection. It was the Lord whom they were serving, not humankind, though fellow men and women on this same journey were part of their loving, caring, nurturing presence and service.

On whom or on what are  we focused: the wrongs done to us, the persons who judge us harshly or the living of the Gospel message and developing a loving relationship with Jesus?  What attitudes or behaviors do we need to let go of that obstruct our understanding of and giving expression to  the Gospel message in our lives as a mother/father, husband/wife, member of a religious community, a member of a parish, at the place of our employment? What attitudes in us interfere with developing an ever deepening relationship with Jesus?

Remember also, that God, as He did for Peter,  sends"angels" to help us and free us from "the prison" into which  we believe others have "thrown" us by their suspicions, judgments and unfavorable attitudes towards us.  If we take other people's impressions of us as true, we are in trouble, as we would be if, like Herod, we try to please others.  Stay focused on Jesus and Jesus alone and you will live a free life!

Motivations, Challenges, Difficulties on the Way

In today’s first reading, Acts 13: 44-52, St. Luke talks about the success and the difficulties Paul and Barnabas encountered when  proclaiming the word of God. “The whole city gathered”  to hear them. The Jews reacted “with jealousy and with violent abuse,” contradicting Paul and Barnabas’  teachings.  “Women of prominence” and “leading men of the city” incited a “persecution” against Paul and Barnabas, expelling  them from the region.   “Armed” with the Scripture that says  “I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth” (Is 49:6), Paul and Barnabas shake “the dust from their feet” and move on.

As I reflect upon Acts 13: 44-52, I might ask myself whether or not, like the Jews,  have I been motivated by jealousy when another person or persons align, not with me, but with others? Am I roused to anger when I am not succeeding and another is? Do I violently, or not so violently, contradict those who are succeeding in ways in which  I want to succeed? Do I incite others to “persecute” those with whom I disagree or  who are more popular than I and of whom I am   jealous  (even when I am unaware of my hidden motivation)?  How important it is that you and I take the time to examine the energy compelling us to spout off against our “neighbor”.  We need to know from whence our behaviors flow: are we reacting from a positive force or a negative one, from a good spirit or an evil spirit?  The inability to rejoice at the good another does or others are doing could easily indicate that my motivation is linked to that within me that is not of God. 

Like Barnabas and Paul, we Christians  are called to be “a light” and “an instrument of salvation to the whole world and, in particular, in the world in which we live, work and pray. To do that we need to leave the negativity within ourselves and outside of ourselves and move on to “greener pastures”, to working in “soil” receptive to the word of God, as did Paul and Barnabas.

Trusting the Lord in Times of Disaster

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the apostles that He will be handed over to evil persons who will kill him.  In three days, He says, He will come back to life. They do not, at all, comprehend what  He is talking about. In fact they immediately begin arguing who is the greatest among them in what they thought was a kingdom here on earth  of which Jesus would become King.  Jesus then describes that to be a participant of His Kingdom, we are called to be servants of all, not persons who lord it over others, and that we are to assume the attitude of a little child. A child is completely dependent upon one’s parents to meet all of his or her needs. How utterly dependent upon God am I? To what extent do I assume being a servant of all?  Today’s first reading, Sirach 2: 1-11,  spells out in detail what it means to a servant of the Lord:

 

“My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord,

prepare yourself for an ordeal.

Be sincere of heart, be steadfast,

And do not be alarmed when disaster comes….

[I]n the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient,

since gold is tested in the fire

 and the chosen in the furnace of humiliation.

Trust [God] and [God] will uphold you,

follow a straight path and hope in [God].

You who fear  the Lord, wait for his mercy,….

hope for those good gifts of his,

everlasting joy and mercy….

Love [ God] and your hearts will be enlightened….

Compassionate and merciful is the Lord;

He forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble,

and he is a protector to all who seek him in truth.

How, in the Lord’s name, you might be asking, can you think of God as merciful in light of the tornadic activity tearing across the country.  Why, you ask, would God allow such destruction.   I am to ‘prepare myself for an ordeal”  and “not be alarmed when disaster comes!” Are you crazy, might be the question.

Discipleship is not a piece of cake.  Jesus tells us in the Gospels that in the world we will have troubles, as He did and no servant is greater than his/her master.  God does not cause evil to happen. God does not send tornadoes or earthquakes or tsunamis or any disaster, natural or otherwise.  Those things simply happen on this earth when conditions are in their favor.  God is there to comfort through responders, to show His mercy through neighbors, to reveal His compassion by an outpouring of help to victims, to restore order in the chaos through persons who offer to clean up, through those who give assistance in rebuilding. God weeps with those who weep.  God suffers with those who suffer.   Heros and heroines will come forward in the most devastating of circumstances—God is at work through them.