MAN STANDING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD

 


SAINT STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR

Acts 6:8-10.7:54-59; Ps 31:3-4,6,8,16-17; Mt 10:17-22

The Son of Man at the right hand of God

We mark the second day of the Octave of Christmas by celebrating the feast of Saint Stephen, the first Christian Martyr. In her wisdom, the Church puts this celebration on this day to reinforce the reality of the Incarnation we celebrate during Christmas. The Prologue of Saint John’s Gospel on the divinity of the Word of God would be a suitable introduction to the feast of the Martyr, Stephen. The fact of the Word becoming flesh explains the communion men now have with God, to which the first reading from the Acts of Apostles testifies. The reading testifies that the Holy Spirit filled Stephen and enabled him to penetrate heaven and behold the heavenly court. What he saw in heaven also lends witness to the mystery of Incarnation: the Son of Man standing at the right hand of divine Majesty. Jesus Christ, born our brother, is now testifying for his brothers and sisters before God in heaven; he speaks for us because he was born into our condition and understands our human situations and weaknesses. The communion we now have with him through the Holy Spirit that he has shared with us in his love for us validates the truth that we now live and rule with him in the presence of God the Father.

These truths are rooted in the solemnity of Christmas we are celebrating. Thus, Stephen’s testimony adds to the pageantry we celebrate our Christmas and does not remove from it. “But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand.” His testimony supports that God became man and that we may become like God. The Holy Spirit that he gives us makes us children of God. But the Holy Spirit who brings us to share the life of God is only given to those who receive the Good News of the Incarnation of the Son of God. The rejection of the Good News of the Incarnation is the other aspect of the Truth that Saint John informs us in his Prologue. The Word, who is God, came to his domain, but his people did not receive him. But those who received him are the ones he gave power to become children of God. The others who reject him remain children of darkness who oppose light.

Saint Stephen's testimonies also lend support to this truth. We see the struggle between the children of light and darkness in his trial and execution. By receiving the Holy Spirit from the Eternal Word, who became our brother by his Incarnation, Christians share his life and mission. Thus, we inherit the opposition he faced from those who rejected him; they also reject and oppose our Christian life and message. Saint Stephen not only inherited the divine life of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit he received, but he also inherited the opposition Jesus faced and, ultimately, his death at the hands of adversaries of truth. Our Lord forewarns us concerning this opposition in the Gospel. “Beware of men: they will hand you over to Sanhedrin and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans.” What he added next confirms our communion with him through the Holy Spirit we have received. “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.” The coming of the Eternal Word in human flesh has gained us this boom of divine communion. It is the reason for the celebration of our solemnity of Christmas. May the steadfastness of Saint Stephen earn us true faith in the Incarnation of the Eternal Word.

Let us pray: 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, God, for ever and ever. 

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