Memorial of St. Stephen, First Christian Martyr
A day immediately following Christmas, the liturgical color suddenly turns from white or gold to crimson or red. December 26 is the feast of the first Christian martyr, Stephen.
St. Stephen was one of the seven deacons who helped the apostles. The book of the Acts of the Apostles describes him as a man "filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit” and “full of fortitude”. Stephen was stoned to death outside Jerusalem and died while praying for his executioners. While being stoned, he said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and echoing the dying words of Jesus, he breathe his last with, “Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”
With Christmas Day behind us, we are made to FOCUS ON JESUS WITHOUT THE MELODIC BACKDROP. Jesus, the Light that “shines on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death”, reveals things in the world we may never have seen before and things about our selves that we may never have realized. CHRISTMAS IS NOT A DAY FOR US TO ROMANTICIZE, for quite early the disciples of Jesus, those who welcomed the Light, realized that discipleship was not a romantic interlude in a hostile world. Having seen the Light that first shone in Bethlehem, the PIVOTAL ISSUE FOR US NOW IS WHETHER THE SAME LIGHT CONTINUES TO SHINE TODAY, whether we can see the Light in darkness and our world in its true light.
Stephen, like all the martyrs down the history of Christianity, testified to that Light. The same testimony is expected from us who believe in the Incarnation of the Son of God and have been enlightened by His Holy Birth.
Christmas is a feast of lights, literally and figuratively. Christmas continues way beyond December 25 and the light is no longer in the lanterns we hang. THE LIGHT MUST SHINE THROUGH FROM THE LIVES WE LIVE. May that light never be put out.
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