St. Stephen's Day

December 26

Prayer of the Day
Grant us grace, O Lord, that like Stephen we may learn to love even our enemies and seek forgiveness for those who desire our hurt; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
2 Chronicles 24:17-22
{17} Now after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and did obeisance to the king; then the king listened to them. {18} They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and served the sacred poles and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. {19} Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD; they testified against them, but they would not listen. {20} Then the spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of the priest Jehoiada; he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus says God: Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has also forsaken you." {21} But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the LORD. {22} King Joash did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. As he was dying, he said, "May the LORD see and avenge!"

17. after the death of Jehoiada: Jehoiada was a priest who hid Joash, Azariah’s son, from Athaliah, his grandmother when she tried to kill him in order to secure her control over the throne of Judah. After seven years Jehoiada placed Joash on the throne, Athaliah was killed and Judah was at peace. "Joash did what was right in the sight of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest (2 Chronicles 24:2)," but after the death of Jehoiada (at 130 years old according to 2 Chronicles 24:15), there was a reversal of religious policy led by certain officials of Judah which led to Yahweh’s wrath and the sending of prophets.
20. the spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of the priest Jehoiada: Zechariah became a prophet who denounced the apostasy of the people. Joash, the king whom Zechariah’s father had protected, commanded that he be stoned to death.
22. he said, "May the Lord see and avenge!" Whether deliberately anti-Semitic or not the contrasting of Stephen’s "Christ-like" prayer, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them," and Zechariah’s prayer for vengeance portrays the Christian saint as morally superior to his Jewish predecessor, and his religion, better than Judaism. To ignore the implication is to participate in it. A comment pointing out the different circumstances (betrayal by the king who "did not remember the kindness of Zechariah’s father) should be sufficient to offset our natural desire to feel superior at the expense of our brothers and sisters.

Psalm 17:1-9, 15
{1} Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit. {2} From you let my vindication come; let your eyes see the right. {3} If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress. {4} As for what others do, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. {5} My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. {6} I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words. {7} Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand. {8} Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, {9} from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me…. {15} As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

The singer is in great danger, surrounded by enemies who seek to hurt or destroy him/her. The singer is confident that despite his/her peril (s)he will awake in Yahweh’s presence.

Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51-60
(8} Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. {9} Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. {10} But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. {11} Then they secretly instigated some men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." {12} They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. {13} They set up false witnesses who said, "This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; {14} for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us." {15} And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. {7:1} Then the high priest asked him, "Are these things so?" {2a} And Stephen replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me…. {51} "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever 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." {54} When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. {55} But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. {56} "Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" {57} But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. {58} Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. {59} While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." {60} Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died.

9-11: Stephen debates with Hellenistic Jews, probably freed slaves (the synagogue of the Freedmen) from the diaspora, and is denounced for blasphemy.
10. the council: This is the same council that had arrested Peter and John and forbidden them to preach or teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:15ff).
13. false witnesses: The use of false witnesses reminds us to the false witnesses used at Jesus’ trial. In fact, the accusations of the false witnesses are like those brought against Jesus, namely, that Jesus would destroy "this place," the Temple (Mark 14:57-58), and that he criticized the customs of Moses (Mark 7:1-13).
15. his face was like the face of an angel: When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai his face shone with the reflected glory of Yahweh. Perhaps it is something like this that is intended.
2a…60: Stephen’s discourse is "(a) historical or typological, as it presents a thumbnail sketch of Israel’s history, in deuteronomic style, depicting the reaction of Israel of old to God’s actions on its behalf, and it thus achieves a polemic and apologetic purpose; (b) didactic, as it interprets the Scriptures for Jewish religious authorities who listen to it; and (c) accusatory, as it indicts those listening and condemns those who are trying Stephen with ‘resisting the Holy Spirit’ and with being as intolerant of prophets sent to them as were their ancestors of old." ¹
    The bulk of Stephen’s speech is omitted in the lection. What is retained focuses on the opposition of the religious authorities to the Holy Spirit and their complicity in the execution murder of "the Righteous One."
53. the law as ordained by angels: A contemporary Jewish belief. LXX of Deuteronomy 33:2; Jubilees 1:27-29. In the New Testament: Acts 7:38; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2.

Matthew 23:34-39
{34} Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, {35} so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. {36} Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation. {37} "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! {38} See, your house is left to you, desolate. {39} For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’"

34-36: "As a parting public repartee, Jesus asserts that he will send ‘prophets, sages, and scribes’ among Pharisaic groups, and the reception given these emissaries will be true to form. Undoubtedly this is a picture of how Matthew’s community members have fared among Pharisaic antagonists. Since Jesus saw it as forthcoming, such extreme, negative behavior was only to be expected. That it continues in Matthew’s day is no surprise, since, as Jesus states, with a word of honor: ‘Truly, I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.’"
37-39: "A Christian expositor is under no obligation to defend such a mass of vituperation, even if it may be excused in Matthew to some extent by the inflamed hostility of the persecuted. The best that can be said is that the words may be taken as a warning addressed to the church and its leaders against allowing the hypocritical attitudes here denounced to develop in their own ranks. Matthew has no illusions about the character of the church as he knows it (24:10-12), and he may be using the scribes and Pharisees, as he describes them, as examples of what Christians must avoid in themselves." ²

Reflection
    In the fourth and fifth centuries the three days following Christmas Day were established as festivals of martyrs: December 26, St. Stephen, martyr both in will and in deed, December 27, St. John, martyr in will but not in deed, December 28, The Holy Innocents, martyrs in deed but not in will.
    "Stephen…was one of the seven deacons ordained by the apostles, and he was the first to die for his faith. In his death he closely imitated the death of Christ, praying for his executioners and commending his soul to the hands of God. The celebration of this feast was established very early in the church’s life, and it is possible that the commemoration occurs on the actual day of Stephen’s martyrdom…. The commemoration of the first Christian martyr the day after Christmas is a good antidote for the sentimentality about Jesus which all too easily marks that festival." ³
    The first lesson was selected as an example of the persecution of the innocent by those who act unlawfully but with official sanction. In the case of Zechariah, the king, himself, authorized the stoning of the prophet. In the later case of Stephen, it also seems that there may have been official connivance, since the attack on believing Jews in Jerusalem seems to have been widespread and extensive (Acts 8:1-3). If there is a legitimate use of the contrast between Zechariah’s response to his murders and that of Stephen, it is that Christians must not use against their adversaries the weapons used against them, even when and especially when they can claim the encouragement or protection of authority. Further, that we should always be prepared to receive our enemies with love and peace. And finally, that the success of the Gospel does not depend on the success of our efforts.
    The Gospel makes it clear that Stephen’s fate is not an accident or unfortunate mishap. It is the inevitable consequence of having heard the Gospel and been convinced of its truth. A Christian should never be surprised that the world will not listen, for the world in captivity to the powers of evil.
    Lutherans need to be especially vigilant against anti-Semitism.

Hymns ⁴
With One Voice (e.g. 762v), Hymnal Supplement 1991 (e.g. 725s) and LBW (e.g. 32).
E=Entrance; D=Hymn of the Day; I=First Lesson, P=Psalm; II=Second Lesson; G=Gospel

500 --E--Faith of Our
183 --D--The Son of
177 --D--By All Your (v. 7) 792s --P--Thy Holy Wings
535, 176, 174, 182, 370, 507, 689v, 691v

Prayers of the People ⁵
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.
    Lord God, in this glad season we praise you for the birth of your Son among us. On this day we remember that your Son and those who follow him are called to die in faith. Give us grace to be faithful servants and courage to trust you in life and in death. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.
   Lord God, your Son commands us to pray for our enemies. Give us the vision to see that you created all people, and that all are in need of our prayer. Provide us with mediators who can help us settle our differences without violence. Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.
   Lord God, we see your love shine in the glory of the child in the manger. As Mary and Joseph cared for this child, so may we grow to hold dear those in our families. Teach us also to love those who are different from us, and those who are in special need of human care, Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.
   Lord God, your servant Stephen was called to be a deacon and a preacher. Guide your servants today to be courageous and effective communicators of your Gospel. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.
   Lord God, you granted Stephen at his death a vision of your glory and of your Son at your right hand. Give to the dying such a sense of peace, and to the sick the assurance of your healing power. (We remember especially…) Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer.
    Lord God, you prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Prepare us now to greet them in love as you bring them with us and with all your saints to the heavenly feast. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.
   Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Notes
¹ Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New York: Doubleday, 1998, p. 364.
² Francis Wright Beare, The Gospel according to Matthew: Translation, Introduction and Commentary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1981, p. 461.
³ The Church Year Calendar and Lectionary The Church Year Calendar and Lectionary. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1973, p. 124.
⁴ http://www.worship.on.ca/text/rclb9900.txt
⁵ Lessons and Prayers, Lessons and Prayers, Volume 1, Number 12, December 26, 1993. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress.