Fr Jack SJ MD: Feast of St. Stephen

The Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, is a necessary balance to the joy of Christmas. It is necessary because it brings us back to the reality of the past two millennia, a reality that Jesus described in the today's gospel: ". . . they will hand you over to courts. . . . they will scourge you . . . .brother will hand over brother . . . . you will be hated by all because of my name . . .

It is quite a shift from angels and shepherds. It is a harsh contrast to a Charlie Brown Christmas and the racks of sappy Hallmark cards. We pray for peace on earth but it never comes. The persecution of Christians simply because they are Christians continues up to the present throughout the world. Stoning is not a significant risk in the U.S. But ostracism, being ‘canceled’, or a bogus lawsuit for saying the truth are risks. The effects can be as devastating as a few rocks to the cranium.

Stephen was martyred by those to whom he preached Jesus crucified and risen from the dead. Stephen's willingness to preach the truth despite the cost had an astonishing impact on one man who was a silent witness to that stoning. It is an easy-to-miss detail in the first reading. "The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul."

This young man was a firebrand. No one knows what went through his mind

as he watched life extinguished from Stephen's body, watching as stone after stone hit its mark. Stephen's execution was not unique. Stoning was the punishment for many sins and crimes.

That young man would become radicalized. He sought permission to become a bounty hunter, to round-up Christians and get them to Rome for execution. But then, something changed within this man. He was transformed from a man whose desire was to persecute Christians into one who helped spread the faith after his own conversion, He went from persecutor of Christians to a martyr for preaching Jesus crucified and risen from the dead. Today we call him St. Paul of Tarsus.

Jesus warned in the gospel that following him would not be easy. Those who choose to follow him will encounter objections, hostility, family divisions, and hate because of his name. Persecution and martyrdom of those who follow Christ have marked all of the twenty centuries since Jesus preached his prophetic words. "You will be hated by all because of my name." The consolation comes in the second half of that statement, "but whoever endures to the end will be saved."

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A very busy Christmas though one in which I was able to find periods of quiet and solitude. After Mass this morning time to get some preparation done for a number of upcoming conferences. The photos below are from the chapel in St. Mary's Hall, the Jesuit residence on campus. I'd hoped to go down into Boston along the Charles River to shoot cityscapes but temperatures in the teens nixed that plan. I don't generally mind the cold but it is draining in light of having myasthenia gravis. The MG is reasonably well-controlled with medication but there are some realities to deal with and the effect of temperature extremes is one of them. So, I grabbed tripod, camera bag (a converted wheel-on suitcase) and went over to the chapel on Christmas Eve.