Are yall ready for this?

As a man who is discerning a call to diaconate tomorrow’s first reading really speaks to me about that call.    The most amazing part to me is how skillfully Luke has worded the death of the first Christian Martyr, Saint Stephen, to show how it mirrored the very death of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  

They both spoke with Wisdom and no one could resist their arguments - (Acts 6:10, Matt 13:54)
Both had false witnesses testify against them - (Acts 6:11, Matt 26:59)
The Pharisees stirred up the crowd to turn against them (Acts 6:12, Matt 27:20)
Both were brought in before the council for trial - (Acts 6:12, Matt 26:59)
Both were falsely accused of Blasphemy (Acts 6:13, Matt 26:65)
Both were accused of breaking the Law of Moses (Acts 6:13, Matt 12:2)
Both were associated with high priests - (Acts 7:1, Matt 26:3)
Stephen was dealing with the same people - (Acts 7:1, Matt 26:57)
Both prayed for forgiveness of their executioners - (Acts 7:60, Luke 23:34)
Their bodies were both buried by devout men - (Acts 8:2, Matt 27:59)

That is the ultimate goal of Christianity isn’t it?   To have our lives so configured to Christ that when people look at us they see not us, but the image of our Lord and Savior lived out in our actions and words.  Stephen managed this in a way that led to martyrdom.  Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. (CCC 2473) Not all of us are called to Martyrdom.  Many of us may live a long, productive life that ends in a quiet and peaceful death.  That doesn’t free us from not only needing to be more like Christ, but it should be our desire!  We should want to be more like Him!  To live in a way that not only honors his memory, but makes him present to those around us.  It reminds me of Philip, who we do not see being martyred but still presenting himself much like the story of Stephen.  

When we look at these two men we see clear examples of what we are being called to do.  We are being called to live our lives in a way that images the life of Christ.  A life of faith and obedience to God the Father.  One in which we go forth regardless of the danger or consequences that might be involved with preaching the Gospel of Christ, even if it means going to our own death.   Why?  What is in it for us?  What is worth all of this hubbub?  That’s where the Gospel begins to point us.  

Jesus has just performed some major miracles in the presence of these men and women on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  The people have all the evidence in their presence to say that he not only multiplied the bread, but also somehow miraculously crossed the sea in the night without a boat.   This man has done something which is not natural, something that only God should be able to do, he has command over the elements!  He forms reality around him, changing the storm into calmness, water into something which can be walked on, bread into something which multiplies and feeds beyond it’s capacity.  

Yet when they come to him, they aren’t looking for the right thing.  Their stomachs are empty again… they just want more food.  I can imagine the people seeing a new way of life in which they just follow this man around for free food and entertainment.  Jesus goes on to give them the bread of life discourse, in which we Catholics see the Eucharist.  The Old Testament is filled with examples of God providing for his people:  Thus the flood and Noah's ark prefigured salvation by Baptism, as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, "the true bread from heaven.”  (CCC 1094)  Unlike the manna which their fathers had eaten in the desert, which only fed them for a day, Jesus was offering them something more powerful, something more filling, something greater than that bread which must be gathered every day.  He was offering them his very self.. Body, soul and divinity… in the Eucharist.    He offers you the same today.  He is offering you eternal life.

Are you ready for that?  Each of us is called to specific vocation, to a specific way of life.  You are the only you there is.  Pope Francis reminded us of that in his simple, yet eloquent way:

You are called to journey this life in a way that leads to eternity in the presence of God.  You are called to be the best you, you can be.   That doesn’t mean you have to be like me… your calling is unique.. The way you do things is unique.. God made you to be you, but to be the real you requires living a life in conformity to the image in which you have been made.. In the image of Christ.. Are you ready for that?  It begins anew every time we step forward and receive him, responding Amen…” All that you have said, we will do.” (Exodus 24:3)

His servant and yours,

Brian

“He must increase, I must decrease.”

Why all this death?

“Rachel Weeping for Her Children”
(Click here to learn more)

I wrote just a few days ago about how the Church goes immediately from celebrating the birth of our Savior to the death of the first Christian Martyr.    The very next day the celebrate John the Evangelist, followed by the Feast of the Holy Innocents.  Why all this death?  Why do we go from such a gentle and loving scene... one which so many can identify with.   To this scene of the death of innocent children? 

We could talk about how that Mathew is portraying Jesus as the new Moses.   Just as Pharoah killed the young Hebrew children, so too did Herod.  That's an important thing to realize.  That Mathew is portraying Jesus as the new Law Giver, the new Prophet, the New Man to lead us out of slavery from the oppressive forces of sin.  I think though there is even more.  The Church has put these three feasts back to back immediately after Christmas for another reason I think. 

Christmas of course teaches us to have Jesus born in our hearts.  Not just on a single day, but throughout our lives.   That makes us Christian.  Through Baptism we are incorporated into the body of Christ and forgiven for our sins.  It doesn't just end there though.  It has to continue.  Conversion is not just a single event, not just something that happens only once.. but it's something that happens over and over.  Every day.  Every breath.  Every time we choose God over sin we are having a moment of conversion.  We might have had a huge mountain top experience at one point, but we still must keep growing.  Becoming more like Christ every day.

That brings us to our first feast, Stephen.  This is one example of how Christians behave.  It's an example of what it takes to get to Heaven, right?   If you die for your faith we Christians believe you will go to Heaven.   The early Christians believed it so strongly that they would sing hymns and rejoice on the way to the collossiums to be killed.  People were converted by the faith they witnessed.  I think that's one of the examples we are given right after Christmas to show us an important fact.  Having Jesus born in our hearts means being willing to die for our faith, it means standing up for our faith and witnessing to it.  Most of us aren't in danger of this at the moment, but some people are.   In other countries we see a genocide being committed.  Ninevah has been eradicated, a group that has been Christian since the time of Christ, is now gone.

Then we see John the Evangelist.   John was indeed ready to die for his faith.  Legend has it that he was boiled alive in oil... and lived.   So they banished him to an island where he spent the last of his life.  John didn't die a martyr, but we still consider him to be in Heaven.  I think this is another way that the Church is showing us to live for Christ.  That we must stay true to our faith until the end, tackling whatever crosses come our way.  That some of us are going to die quietly, but we shoudl do so with faith.  Just yesterday I went to deliver Holy Communion to a parishioner.  She spoke of her faith.  She spoke of her impending death.  She cried.  We cried.  Her faith was powerful.   She is not afraid to die.  She is ready to go on.  She spoke of Jesus with a faith that said "I know this man.  I am so happy to go be with him."   She thanked us over and over again for bringing him to her in the Eucharist.  She said it was the most important thing to her right now. That's an example for us all.

Then you have the third way, the one that is hardest to talk about, isn't it?  The innocent.  The lives that are lost but had no chance to convert.   Among these the most obvious would be the unborn lives that have never had the chance to live outside the womb.  Just this morning I saw an article about a woman who was upset that a magazine cover showed a fetus and it looked "too much like a baby."  It brings it home doesn't it?  That a fetus looks like a baby? People don't like to think about this.   The thing is, at one time even Christians worried that someone who was not baptized would go to hell, or at best some place called Limbo.   Now, as we see with this feast, we trust in God's mercy.  We Catholics believe that if a child dies before the age of reason they go to Heaven to be with God.  Just like the Holy Innocents that Herod killed.   We don't believe they are in some separate state, but rather that God's mercy reaches out to those who do not know, those who had no choice, or those who just can't make a decision.   That includes all of those who never were evangelized, or did not have the mental capacity to make a choice.   We believe that God loves all and has mercy on all.  Then we trust. We trust that those who committed suicide are able to go to Heaven.  That those who were shot by a gang member while walking home are with Him.   That those who simply did not know, that his mercy pours over them.

That brings another group of innocents.   How many are fleeing persecution from regimes that want their death, seeking asylum in our countries.. only to be turned away.  Sure, there are some who are trying to harm us.  We should not be ignorant of that.  There are some radicals who may hide among them trying to get into places to kill... but what of the innocent?  What of the children?  The young mothers, the widows and orphans?  The truly innocent?  How do we turn our backs on them especially at Christmas time and almost forget them?

Yes, I think the Church groups these together to remind us that our faith only begins at Christmas... it must continue through till our own Easter.   That's a powerful reminder of resurrection isn't it?  Our own personal Easter is going to be unique.. it's going to be ours.. no one else can live our lives for us.. and no one else is going to have a death exactly the same as ours... but praise be to God that we can all be resurrected if we have but faith.   My homebound friend has given me an example of the way that I hope I am able to experience Easter.   With faith.   With patience.  With joy.  With confidence.  She did not speak of fear, even if it might be there.   Rather she worried about her child and how much of a burden she was on them, she worried about them... not herself.  I heard not one selfish word come out her mouth.. but rather I stood and listened to Jesus speak through her. 

Heavy things to think of.. but again I must say, Christmas has no meaning without Easter.  

His servant and yours,
Brian

What is Christianity without death?

A Reflection on the Readings for
December 26, 2015 - The Feast of Saint Stephen

The Day after Christmas we go from celebrating life, to celebrating death.  Isn't that a strange dichotomy?  One morning we are celebrating the birth of Christ into the world.  The image of a newborn child swaddled and nestled in a manger of hay or the arms of Mary the Mother of God give people a warm, fuzzy feeling.  Who doesn't love to look on the face of a cooing child?  People who often do not want anything to do with religion or faith are quick to join in worship on Christmas and Christmas Eve because this is what we want out of our faith.  That's obvious by the church shopping that goes in our culture...  You don't like the message? Keep moving around till you find one you do.

That's not Christianity though.  The church reminds us in this one simple setting of dates that Christianity began with the birth of a child, but it ends with death and resurrection.  The life of a Christian is not supposed to be a bed of roses.  It's not supposed to be all cooing and love.  It's messy.  It's hard.  It requires sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears.  It requires a cross.  Christianity without the cross is neutered.  It has no message. It has no death.  It has no resurrection.

Stephen knew this.   He went out into the square and he faced the people.  As a Deacon of the church he served at the tables.   He ventured into the public square doing his duty, that is making sure that all of God's people had what they needed.  He was a servant.  Feeding, distributing, helping.   The people who disagreed with him sought him out.   They looked for him to debate.   They followed him around trying to argue.  Stephen responded with logic, reason, and rational responses.   This made them angry.  Have you seen that before?   Someone wants to argue a point, you give them an answer they cannot refute.. they get angry?  They change to another point instead of acknowledging they were wrong?  In this case he had a vision and when he expressed this manifestation to the crowds.. the mobbed him, dragging him out of the city and stoned him.

Stephen was the first Martyr for Christ after His resurrection.  It's interesting to note though that Stephen prayed for his persecutors.  And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  In a perfect example of his love, in perfect imitation of His Lord and Savior from the Cross, Stephen prayed for their souls as they murdered him.  Stephen died with love.  No hate in his heart for those beating and stoning him.  No desire for revenge.  Simply loving them, even more than his own life. 

That's Christianity my friends.  Look at the fruits of his prayer?   Stephen in his love prayed for the men standing around.   We don't know what happened to all of them.  We do know that one young man, a certain Saul of Tarsus, eventually came to conversion and became one of the most influential Christians of the first century.  They threw rocks of stone, Stephen volleyed back boulders of love.  Saul consented to Stephen's death, Stephen consented to Saul's conversion and salvation.   Wow! Are you ready for that cross? 

That's what this Feast challenges us to do.   It challenges us to face the reality of Christianity.   It begins with taking up your own cross.   It starts with looking at your heart.   Are there any stony places left?  Are there any grudges you are still holding?  Any forgiveness that was supposed to be given that you are still gripping with white knuckled fists?  Today is the day to let Christ be born again into your heart, to stand up in the public square and let His Spirit give you the words you need to say.  Many times we don't know how to forgive... we don't know the right words to say.. we can't even describe it...  That's when we must turn it over to Him.  Let the Spirit speak them for you.. pray for the grace to forgive.. the grace to pray for them, no matter what the hurt...  Today.  Tomorrow may be too late. 

His servant and yours,
Brian