The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, on the Feast of Stephen, invite us to contemplate our willingness to endure challenges and hardship that arise out of our journey with Jesus.
Challenges on the Journey
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the arrest and martyrdom of Stephen.
* [7:55] He…saw…Jesus standing at the right hand of God: Stephen affirms to the Sanhedrin that the prophecy Jesus made before them has been fulfilled (Mk 14:62).1
Psalm 31 offers prayer and praise for deliverance from enemies.
* [31:6] Into your hands I commend my spirit: in Lk 23:46 Jesus breathes his last with this Psalm verse. Stephen in Acts 7:59 alludes to these words as he is attacked by enemies. The verse is used as an antiphon in the Divine Office at Compline, the last prayer of the day.2
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus assures us that the one who endures to the end will be saved.
* [10:22] To the end: the original meaning was probably “until the parousia.” But it is not likely that Matthew expected no missionary disciples to suffer death before then, since he envisages the martyrdom of other Christians (Mt 10:21). For him, the end is probably that of the individual’s life (see Mt 10:28).3
Eileen Burke-Sullivan shares that If we believe in the wonder of Christmas, the Babe of Bethlehem, and God’s generosity and humility in coming among humans, we must also believe in this cost of the relationship with God and God’s friends.
In today’s liturgy, the Church places in stark relationship what Saint Ignatius Loyola calls “the Two Standards.” The standard of Christ – love, mercy, commitment to the dignity of human personhood in every situation, community and companionship – and the standard of evil that allows us to relish privilege, ignore the poorest and most vulnerable, and consume the earth’s goods without consideration for the consequences. If we want to claim Jesus, and the Bethlehem story, as our story then we must claim the cost and the victory of following the Standard of Christ. “O Come Let Us Adore Him . . . Christ the Lord.”4
Don Schwager quotes “Your Father speaks through you in every age,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"To be sure, we heard in that reading, 'But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you are to speak... for it is not you who are speaking but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you.' And he says in another place: 'Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world' (Matthew 28:20). Does this mean that the people who heard those words of the Lord would be here until the end of the world? The Lord was referring, rather, not only to those about to depart from this life but also to the others, including us and those who would come after us in this life. He saw everyone in his single body, and the words he spoke, 'I am with you even to the end of the world,' were heard by them and by us too. And if we did not hear them then in our knowledge, we heard them in his foreknowledge. Therefore, safe as sheep among the wolves, let us keep the commandments of him who directs us. And let us be 'innocent as doves but cautious as snakes' (Matthew 10:16). Innocent as doves that we may not harm anyone; cautious as snakes that we may be careful of letting anyone harm us." (excerpt from SERMON 64A.2)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 10:17-22 comments that Stephen relied on the Spirit, who gave him not only the courage to preach but also the grace to forgive the people who killed him (Acts 6:10; 7:60).
So how do we open ourselves to the Spirit? As St. Paul told Timothy, we can “stir into flame” his presence within us (2 Timothy 1:6). That doesn’t necessarily mean praying long, drawn-out prayers. It can be as simple as “Come, Holy Spirit!” or “Holy Spirit, help me!” The Holy Spirit is so close to us that even when we don’t know what to ask for, he “intercedes with inexpressible groanings” on our behalf (Romans 8:26). We just have to try to be aware, open, and expectant. Such heartfelt prayers are perfect just before, say, a tough meeting at work. Or prior to delicate conversations with family members you will see around the holidays. Or when you’re trying to figure out how to share your faith. You don’t even have to wait for a tense situation—you can count on the Spirit to help you whenever you are at a loss for words!6
Friar Jude Winkler summarizes some of the differences in Stephen that made him stand out among deacons and the citizens of Jerusalem. It is often part of the call for Christians to suffer for the Gospel. Friar Jude uses “already but not yet” to illustrate the different sense of salvation among Paul and the Evangelists.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, asked a theologian friend “What comes to your mind when I say the word ‘incarnation’?” Without hesitating, he responded, “Dance.” Dance is an art that allows all of our body to express itself beyond boundaries. Sacred dance, ritual dance, and many other forms of dance allow individuals and communities to experience the grace and joy of being incarnated into a body.
Trauma therapist Dr. Jamie Marich writes:
A dynamic practice can be simply challenging yourself to look deeply into your heart and tell your story to the dance floor, a process I’ve come to call storydancing. This can be the story of your whole life or the story of what you’re living through right now. . . . You may feel called to use this practice for the purpose of transformation and manifestation, allowing the dance to help create a new ending, or usher in a new chapter. . . .7
Our meditation on the Incarnation might be framed by comparison of Stephen’s dance with the Spirit to our experience of being spiritually supported in our lives.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment