Sermon – St Stephen, Martyr
Key Texts – 2 Chronicles 24:17-22
Acts 6:8-10
Matthew 10:17-22
Today we remember St Stephen the Martyr. We first meet Stephen earlier in Acts. The church in Jerusalem was growing and there were not only Hebrews following Jesus but also Hellenistic Jews. These Hellenistic Jews would have been Jewish people who had adopted the Greek language and culture. It seems that even in its infancy, the church was having some challenges with language barriers and cross-cultural dynamics because the Hellenist widows were feeling unsupported compared to the Hebrew widows.
Stephen is among seven men appointed to ensure that the Hellenist widows received equal care from the Church. He was recognised as someone in the community who was wise, full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He also went on to perform signs and wonders empowered by the Spirit. You might think that people would be excited to see signs and wonders happening in the community, but as was the case with Jesus, these actions drew opposition from within the synagogue.
Our Acts reading is only a summary of the situation, if we look closer at the text people were so affronted by the work of the Holy Spirit through Stephen and his wisdom imparted by the Spirit that they convinced people to bring false charges against him. These people suggested that he was blaspheming Moses and God and changing the customs of the synagogue. This accusation meant that Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin, complete with false witnesses.
The Sanhedrin were the Jewish judicial and legal authority. They asked Stephen if the accusations were true. This gives Stephen the opportunity to speak. And speak he does! What follows is a significant retelling of the Jewish salvation history starting with Abraham and Moses and God’s saving working in the life of the people of Israel. He continues his reply with a reminder of the Israelites’ history of walking away from God and worshipping idols which ultimately sent them into exile in Babylon. The final nail in his coffin is his concluding statement –
Acts 7:51 ‘You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are for ever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. 53 You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.’
The Sanhedrin members are outraged at the suggestion that they were responsible for the death of Jesus. Before we pigeonhole Jewish leaders as all bad and the early church as good, we should not forget that the Jewish people were living under the control of a foreign power. It is not surprising that their religious leaders were concerned that this new sect could be a threat to their religious existence.
We should not be shocked that Stephen’s life and testimony enraged the Sanhedrin. Not too long ago, Peter and John had been preaching about the resurrection of the dead, which caused a commotion with the Priests and Sadducees ending with them being thrown into prison. They were instructed not to teach or preach the name of Jesus. They only got out of prison with the miraculous help of angels!
This persecution echoes the words of Jesus in our Gospel reading. He warned his disciples that they would face persecution in this exact way. Jesus predicted they would face trials and challenges at the hands of the religious authorities.
Jesus was clear from his teaching that following him came at a cost. In his sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared – Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.(Matt 5:11). He consistently warned those who desired to follow him that they would not face an easy road.
The disciples witnessed Jesus’ conflict with the religious leader which ultimately led to his death. The early church faced persecution at every turn. Their best attempts at living peaceful and quiet lives were consistently met with resistance and opposition.
And yet this persecution contributed to the spreading of the Gospel. Jesus instructed his disciples, before his ascension, that they were to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. However, at this stage in Acts they all remain in Jerusalem. The persecution that increased following the death of Stephen saw the disciples spreading out from Jerusalem into further reaches of the Roman Empire. We don’t celebrate persecution, but we do need to recognise that it played a key role in moving the early church beyond Jerusalem and throughout the Roman Empire and the Gentile world.
As Stephen was facing his death, he looked up and saw the Son of Man standing next to God in heaven. He was strengthened by seeing Jesus who also suffered a painful death, alive and in the presence of God. The early church was fortified in their ability to face persecution because they held a strong theology of resurrection. They had seen their Lord risen from the grave. They believed his promise that they too would experience resurrection and life eternal. When you know that this life is not the end, it gives strength to face the challenges of this world.
Just before he dies Stephen declares – Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Despite his pain and physical suffering, his focus is on the Jewish people being reconciled with God. His whole reason for testifying to the Sanhedrin was that people would understand that Jesus was the fulfilment of God’s promises to the Jewish people in the Old Testament.
His statement echoes the words of Jesus on the cross – Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). There is a common theme of love for those persecuting him. Both Stephen’s and Jesus’ words suggest that if people understood the plan of God they would not be taking these actions. It also shows a great love for their enemies. This is true love. Jesus said What good is it if you love those who love you? Even sinners do that (Luke 6:32). It is much more challenging to love those who truly hate you or cause you pain. There is something in the statements of Stephen and Jesus that shows us that it is possible to forgive without any acknowledgement from the perpetrator. It must be said that forgiveness does not mean that what happened was right or that relationships need to be restored when there is no safety or repentance. Forgiveness should never be used to keep people in unsafe relationships. We forgive because it sets us free. It may not be a quick process because the pain we have experienced doesn’t go away quickly. But perhaps that is why Jesus taught the disciples to pray forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
As we reflect on the life of St Stephen, we see that
- Following Jesus does not promise a smooth path and we may face challenges.
- The Holy Spirit empowers us to face the challenges that come on our path.
- The Resurrection gives us hope that the challenges we face in this life are temporary and we can live in the light of the promise of eternal life.
- We are called to be a people who follow Christ in loving our enemies, praying for them, and forgiving because we know we too have been forgiven much.