The Mission

Feast of Saint Stephen, Deacon and First Martyr A-1 (December 26)

Entrance Antiphon The gates of heaven were opened for blessed Stephen, who was found to be first among the number of the Martyrs and therefore is crowned triumphant in heaven.

Collect Grant, Lord, we pray, that we may imitate what we worship, and so learn to love even our enemies, for we celebrate the heavenly birthday of a man who knew how to pray even for his persecutors. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(December 26) St. Stephen (d. 36 A.D.) All we know of Stephen is found in Acts of the Apostles, chapters six and seven. It is enough to tell us what kind of man he was: "At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenist (Greek-speaking) Christians complained about the Hebrew-speaking Christians, saying that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit...." (Acts 6:1-5) The Acts says that Stephen was a man filled with grace and power, who worked great wonders among the people. Certain Jews, members of the Synagogue of Roman Freedmen, debated with Stephen but proved no match for the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. They persuaded others to make the charge of blasphemy against him. He was seized and carried before the Sanhedrin. In his speech, Stephen recalled God’s guidance through Israel’s history, as well as Israel’s idolatry and disobedience. He then claimed that his persecutors were showing this same spirit. “[Y]ou always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors” (Acts 7:51b). His speech brought anger from the crowd. “But [Stephen], filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God....’ They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him....As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit....Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (Acts 7:55-56, 58a, 59, 60b).

Scripture: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17; Matthew 10:17-22

Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of men. For they will deliver you up to councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake to testify before them and the Gentiles: But when they deliver you up, take no thought as to how or what to say, for it shall be given you in that hour what to say. For it is not you who will speak but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Brother will deliver up brother to death and the father the son. Children will rise up against their parents and will put them to death. And you will be hated by all men on account of me but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:17-22)

The Mission There are a few obvious and distinctive things about Christian discipleship as portrayed in our Lord’s words today. To begin with, being a disciple of Christ is not just a personal and private affair. It is not just a matter of a personal choice to follow and learn from Jesus Christ, in the way one might have a decisive preference for the thought of a particular philosopher. I remember when studying philosophy at one Australian university I was told by the head of that department that one of his colleagues was a Hegelian. That is, he adhered to the philosophy of Hegel. Being a disciple of Christ means also sharing in the mission of Christ, and not just personally accepting his thought and teaching. Christ gave himself over to bearing witness to the truth of God, and that truth was in the first instance the truth about himself. As he stated to Pontius Pilate, for this was he born, to bear witness to the truth. He stood before Pontius Pilate because he had borne witness to the truth about himself before the leaders of the Jews. Being Christ’s disciple includes, as an essential element, the commitment to share in this mission in everyday life whatever be the circumstances. The witness that is given by the disciple is not just to a body of thought in the way an enthusiastic adherent to Marxism might give his life over to the spread of the thought of Karl Marx. Though the thought of Marx is now thoroughly dated, one still finds on university campuses a stall manned by a few students promoting Marxist literature. The disciple of Christ bears witness to the person of Jesus, and of course, his teaching. But in the first instance he endeavours to introduce people to Jesus himself as to a living person and not just as to a system of thought. If he is to do this, he himself must have a personal acquaintance with the living though unseen Jesus, and this knowledge of Christ must be a sure and certain knowledge based on well‑grounded faith.

Many decades ago the great Pope Pius XII insisted in his teaching that an essential element of the Christian life is that it be apostolic and missionary. That is to say, one is not a true disciple if one lacks the desire and intention to bear practical witness to the living Jesus and his revelation. Discipleship is not simply a matter of personal prayer and private religious practice — even though personal prayer and religious practices are essential to the Christian life. One must have, and one must exercise, a sense of mission on behalf of the person of Jesus. In one’s everyday life the Christian is an ambassador for the living unseen Lord and King. I remember chatting with a novelist and essayist and I was warmly encouraging him in his chosen profession. I pointed out that his work is a very important one because through his writing he can influence the culture of his society. He replied that in his writing he does not think of that — he just writes, implying (I think) that the authentic way to write is by letting it just come without any other higher motive. But I pointed out to him that as a Christian he shares in Christ’s mission and that in his life’s work he must exercise his mission of bearing witness to the truth of Jesus, directly or indirectly. This is indeed the case. What is the meaning of life? Knowing Christ and bearing witness to him before the world of everyday is the meaning of life. In our Gospel passage today, our Lord assures his disciples that they will face difficulties in bearing witness to him, but that they were not to worry about their own inadequacy. They will be helped from on high. “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:17‑22). This implies that we ought be praying to the Holy Spirit frequently for the help and guidance we need in bearing witness to our living Lord.

There is a famous catchcry. It is that life is short and eternity long. How true! The Christian has a great work to do in life. In the first instance, it is to believe in the one whom God has sent, Jesus Christ. Secondly, and as an essential part of this life of faith, it is to bear witness to the one in whom we believe. The salvation of the world depends on our united witness to Jesus. Let us allow our Lord’s words to ring constantly in our ears, “Go out to the whole world and make disciples of all the nations. The one who believes will be saved.”

(E.J.Tyler)

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