Feast of St. Stephen
Here we are on the Second Day of the 12 days of Christmas. Today is the day the Christmas carol tells us that good king Wenceslaus looked out when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even. Today is also historically the second busiest shopping day of the year—this, year, who knows. This is the day bargain hunters go out looking for the best deals; and the day many return their gifts to the store. Today many also either continue the festivities of Christmas or start packing up the decorations. But how does the Church observe today?
In the midst of Christmas’ season of joy, the Church does something many would consider odd. Although there is still the great joy Christmas that we still revel in for the 12 days, we today remember the first martyr of the Christian Church—St. Stephen; his martyrdom is recorded and described in holy Scripture. Since he was the first martyr—the first one to be killed for and while confessing his Christian faith, St. Stephen was held in high regard by the early Church. That must certainly be why his feast day became in such close proximity to the celebration of Jesus’ birth; there must be some close connection between the two: Jesus’ birth and St. Stephen’s martyrdom. The first day of Christmas is one of celebration and merriment; but with the second day of Christmas we come face to face with the stark reality of what Christmas really means for the Christian; we come face to face with what could possibly happen to each one of our Lord’s dear Christians if the devil and his ally, the sinful world, have their way. Here we are reminded of the vow each of us made at our confirmation—to forsake everything –including our life like St. Stephen did—rather than to give up the faith. Today, with St. Stephen’s martyrdom before our eyes, may each of us ask: Am I ready to do the same?
It is part of our nature to go with the flow. Very often we go along with the crowd and try not to stand out. It’s much easier that way! We do not want to go against the conventional way of thinking. Very often our life=styles and attitudes are shaped by those around us; our values are determined by what is generally accepted by those around us. We are told today that truth is relative; that there can be no absolutes; that all religions are equally as valid and eventually all lead to the same God. The sad fact is that many people calling themselves Christians believe the rubbish that society—made up of sinful people whose reasoning is tainted with sin—tells them.
Why do even Christians fall prey to the lies told by the devil and the world? The short, simple answer is: our old sinful self. It is our old sinful nature in us that is constantly rebelling against God and His good and holy will; it is fighting against the new self, the Christian in us, that wants to do God’s will. Our old sinful nature works together with the lies of the devil and the world in order to draw us into unbelief and destroy faith in us. That’s why the Feast of St. Stephen—the day after Christmas—is so good for us. If we want to face it, it teaches us the truth—the reality of what faith in Jesus really means and potentially calls from us.
What is an antidote to going along with the ways the world around us wants us to? The antidote to falling prey to the devil’s lies? Reading and studying Scripture! To have a mind and conscience formed by God’s word! With Scripture in hand we will see how much in and around us opposes Scripture and the will of God. So many of the “hot button issues” our society is dealing with are already settled in Scripture. Why are so many of these—like abortion, homosexuality and same sex so-called marriage—even discussed among Christians as if there is room of debate? Sadly, the simple answer is that Christians tend to be influenced more by the society we live in rather than of the word and the faith that we supposedly confess. By giving up the word and what it clearly teaches we are no better than the Jews who killed the prophets and stoned those who were sent to them [Mt. 23.37]. By ignoring the Scriptures, by placing our human reason above what Scripture teaches, by placing the prevailing “wisdom” of the society around us equal to or above Scripture, aren’t we in our own way killing the prophets and stoning the apostles?
Jesus says in our text: On account of this, behold, I Myself am sending to you prophets and wise ones and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and you will pursue from a city into a city. In order that all righteous blood may come upon you being shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel until the blood of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. We see in Jesus’ words that even the city of God, holy Jerusalem, was no longer holy when it killed the prophets of the word and finally rejected Him whom they foretold. The word of God sanctifies everything and its absence or rejection desecrates everything. Luther said [#780]: The only mark of the Christian Church is following and obeying the word. When that is gone let men boast as much as they please: Church! Church! There is nothing to their boasting anyway. Therefore you should say: Do the people have the word of God there? And do they accept it too?...Wherever one hears the word of God, there is the Church of God, though it be in a cow stable, the place where Christ was born. Here each must ask him/herself: Do I accept, follow and obey the word of God?
Here is where the difficulty comes in. As we follow the word and obey the word we will stand out in the crowd, not merely going with the flow. We will be markedly different from the society around us. Our standards and expectations will be different. Our attitudes and values will conflict with those around us. It is precisely this that the world will hate. As the world hated Christ, it will hate His Christians, too; as the world hated St. Stephen, so too will it hate the Christian.
Don’t be surprised when there are trials of faith in your everyday life. Do not be surprised when you have struggles within you between the old sinful self and the Christian created in you in baptism. This is part of our lives as Christians; our lives in this world of suffering. The Christian will have struggle and persecution in life; it is unavoidable. The persecution may not take the form of stoning like it did with St. Stephen; the persecution may not be organized, but there will be blowback when you strive to live your life as a Christian.
Our Church fathers had great wisdom in observing the feast of the first martyr right after celebrating Jesus’ birth. It drives home the point: Jesus’ coming is the decisive act. Either we are for Him and against the world or for the world and against Him. Because of Jesus we can expect much trial and tribulation because we are not of the world. Much of our trial comes from our old sinful self. It taunts us and leads us to despair in order to lead us away from Jesus. Indeed we may not die for our faith like St. Stephen did, but we will all undergo the daily trials, tribulations, and persecutions. We are reminded of this the day after Christmas. The feast day of St. Stephen serves us as a reminder that our lives as Christians are not always one of celebration or joy. We come down from the high of the celebration yesterday and back to reality. As we are in the world we will endure much sorrow and pain, trial and persecution. It is a false, misleading dream to think that the life of a Christian will all be rosy.
Another reason the feast of St. Stephen is a comfort is precisely because it comes on the heels of Christmas. It serves as a reminder that the joy and comfort of Christmas is ours every day. The blessings of Christmas are for our everyday lives—no matter how they may be. The blessings of Christmas are enough to comfort us in even the greatest trial and persecution. At Christmas we remember that God became one of us, that the Second Person of the blessed and holy Trinity took on human flesh and blood and entered this world of sin. He lived every part of our human life as it should be lived—perfectly, without sin, in complete accord with the word and will of God. As the holy and perfect God-man, Jesus suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world—yours and mine. He endured the wrath of God over each of our sins. And on Easter, we see that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins as He raised Him from the dead—God’s forgiveness rests upon the whole world; sin, death, devil and hell had been conquered and defeated. Forty days later Jesus ascended into heaven where He is now before the throne of the Father interceding/ praying for us and governing and ruling the universe for the benefit of His Church and His dear Christians.
It is precisely this crucified, risen and ascended Jesus that St. Stephen sees as he is being martyred. But filled with the Holy Spirit, [Stephen] gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” St. Stephen saw Jesus as He is now, in all His glory. This, too, comforts us in our times of trial and trouble as with the eyes of faith we see Jesus at the right hand of the Father. He came and perfectly completed His work and He is still in control working all things for our spiritual good!
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I desired to gather together your children [as] a hen gathers together her chicks under her wing, but you were not willing. These words of our text are a great comfort to us especially as we are in the Christmas season. No matter how much we rebel, no matter how much we sin, Jesus still desires to bring us under His almighty wing and protect us. His wing is out there. He wants to gather us together under His protection. No matter how great our sin, He wants to gather and save us. Christmas teaches us of our Lord’s earnest intent to gather us to Himself. While we were yet sinners, living in open rebellion against God, Jesus came. Jesus came to earth that first Christmas, as the hymn puts it, born of virgin mother, and God’s good pleasure to fulfill, He came to be my brother. No garb of pomp or power He wore, a servant’s form, like mine, He bore, to lead the devil captive. So much did our gracious God desire to save us that He had to do the work Himself.
Here is the beautiful connection between persecution and Christmas: at Christmas we have the beautiful assurance that God does desire and wants us to be gathered under His wing. We have that assurance because He Himself has done everything for us—even becoming true man coming on that first Christmas to suffer and die for our sins. He brought about and gives us the fullness of the riches and blessings of heaven. He now gives us these great blessings—the forgiveness of sin, life and salvation—purely and richly in holy Baptism, where we are, for Jesus’ sake, given the fruits of His work and merit. In Baptism He gathers us under His wing. He keeps us under His wing as the Holy Spirit keeps us in the faith working through word and sacrament. As we daily read the word—and if you don’t already, start this New Year—there the Holy Spirit is at work reminding us of our baptism and so leading us to recognize and sorrow over our sin and pointing us to Jesus, our Savior from those sins. And as we regularly and frequently receive Holy Communion, there we receive the forgiveness of sins; there we receive and unite with Jesus; there we receive that very body and blood born of Mary. And here is the midst of trials we have that great comfort St. Stephen. Did. INJ