May 2 2006

Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it. ”When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. 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 Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was consenting to his execution. The beauty of the martyrdom of Saint Stephen is his love and compassion for those who murdered him. To have a love that goes so far beyond self and sets the heart mind and body on the path of God life from love is a gift of the Spirit to be cherished and nurished. The stubborness or misunderstanding of the crowd is nothing new. It is the same people that grumbled in the desert. There has been and always will be ignorance that causes suffering. I can see that there is a part of my self that is a nature akin to the "stiff necked" people that needs to be calmed by focus on the goodness of God and the spirit that holds unselfish love and compassion as values above all others in the following of the way of Jesus. I pray today for the spirit and love of Saint Stephen to carry with me through my daily experiences.