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Christmas Reflection - Feast of Saint Stephen, the first martyr
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December 26, 2020I think we all have those moments under the flush of great emotion and a “spiritual high,” when martyrdom would have an appeal. St. Stephen’s life: his preaching and the miracles he performed had caused great animosity among elements of the people that their anger exploded and led to his being stoned. Stephen had lived a life full of the Grace and Power of the Holy Spirit. He was a living testimony to the Gospel he had preached, and his life had become a living witness of the Wisdom and Spirit of the Living God which this life well-lived exemplified.
In the narthex of my parish church there is a statue of St. Stephen holding in his hand a palm branch; a symbol of his victory and triumph. It is there as a reminder that to be worthy of martyrdom, one much first live a Christ-centered life. That is the Divine Imperative: to be what we claim. We are not all called to die for Christ, but we are all called to live for Him!