Stiff necked satisfy hunger

The response of some to the message proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles is described as ‘stiff necked” in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The learned scholars to whom Stephen makes his case in the episode from Acts are enraged, especially by reference to the stiff necked who refused the direction of Moses, and stone Stephen to death in this rage. What is the extent to which we will go to defend against what we conclude is an attack on our way and our life style. The ‘heresy’ in the views of others is often not as offensive to us as the challenge to our own comfortable beliefs. The prayer of the psalmist for refuge is the assurance we witness in Stephen that the Way of his journey, though through persecution and death, is the Way of Life. The plea of the psalmist may be misinterpreted as protection against controversy and challenges to belief. That would put the psalmist in the group of stiff necked who continue to miss the point. The Gospel of John tells of Jesus proclamation to be the Bread of Life. The relationship with Him, through the indwelling Spirit, brings the Life of which Stephen is the witness. The crowds around Jesus seek to see again the bread of Moses which requires that they maintain their necks in the current direction and do not seek the faith to trust that the Life which satisfies hunger requires a change of attitude.

Stiff necked people

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today show how the revelation of Jesus is an extreme difficulty for the religious authorities. The difficulty of the Hebrew wanderers in the desert with Moses to accept the Covenant relationship with the Divine is characterized in the Hebrew testament as being “stiff necked”. Stephen uses this description as his proclamation of the Divinity of Jesus brings the learned leaders to drag him to death by stoning. As the indwelling Spirit fills and protects him, he offers forgiveness to his slayers. The psalmist is clear in the declaration that the regard we pay to worthless idols and ideas is an insult to our trust in the Lord. The intimacy and totality of Jesus invitation is lived in the trust that the relationship, through the indwelling Spirit, is bread and sustenance to the believer.