"Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Acts 7:56
When one hears of the heavens being opened, perhaps our minds drift back to the story of Jesus' baptism when the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending upon him. Today it is a very different scene. Today it is not the Spirit of God descending, it is the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. What a contrast! The child who yesterday lay in a manger, today stands in his complete humanity and divinity at God's right hand. He is standing and he is looking with gripping concern as one of his disciples suffers a brutal martyrdom.
The mystery of the Incarnation is so profound that the Church sets aside an entire week to ponder it. It is the second day of the Christmas octave. Yesterday Love came down from heaven. Today, Love stands in heaven and draws near to Stephen in a vision as he preaches the Word of God. The Savior that was born in the city of David is now beckoning him and us to look up and see him. He is Emmanuel, God with us! He sees us and we see him. Psalm 34:5 says, "Look to him, and be radiant." It is written of Stephen: "they saw that his face was like the face of an angel." He had looked to God and his face shone with rays from heaven.
Though our world would diminish or destroy us, we do not need to be afraid. We can look to Jesus, Prince of Peace, who is with us in life and death. Whether we are loved or hated by the world for following him, he loves us to the end and because his love for us never ends, neither shall we have an end, because to know him is eternal life.