The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
Today's first reading, from the Book of Acts, tells of the death of the first martyr, Stephen the deacon.
I often think that Stephen's death must have come as a tremendous shock to the apostles and the other members of the early Church. Many of them, certainly all the apostles, and probably most of the others who had followed Jesus and heard him preach, had heard Jesus say again and again that he would go to Jerusalem, be handed over to those who disagreed with his teachings, be tortured and die, and rise to life again on the third day.
During Holy Week, we heard again and again how little attention they had paid to this prediction of Jesus. Although he had told them over and over again what would happen to him in Jerusalem, when the time actually came, they were surprised and shocked. Maybe they had been in denial. Maybe they hadn't really believed what Jesus said about his death and his resurrection. At any rate, when it actually happened, they couldn't believe it. Most of them ran away when it became clear that Jesus had been telling them exactly what was going to happen to him.
And again, at dawn on Easter day, the women who went to the tomb were amazed and terrified to see the tomb empty and to hear from the angels that Jesus was not dead, but was now risen from death to a new
life. Even the leaders of the apostles, who came running pell-mell to see for themselves, didn't really believe it. That evening, in the upper room, when Jesus came to them, they couldn't believe that it
was really Jesus and that he was really alive. The disciples with whom Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus that night didn't even recognize him, let alone believe that Jesus had actually risen from the dead. We have been reading these stories the past few weeks. I wonder how many of us, here and now, actually believe that Jesus rose to life again after his terrible death on the cross?
And now, at the time of Stephen's death, we have the same situation over again. On several occasions Jesus had told his disciples that anyone who wanted to follow him must take up their cross and be prepared to die, just as he himself would. There's no telling whether or not the disciples really believed what they heard Jesus saying, or if they thought he was using a metaphor or an exaggerated example.
But, here they were outside the gates of Jerusalem again, not far from Golgotha. Here they were, in the crowd around Stephen, watching the Pharisees take up stones and begin throwing them at Stephen. Here they were, watching Stephen being executed, just as Jesus was executed. Execution wasn't nice and clean and neat in those days; no electric chair or lethal injection. The Romans preferred the cross, to give the condemned person as much pain and shame as possible before death came. The Jews preferred the age-old method of stoning to death, which was also extremely painful and
humiliating and shameful. Now, the apostles and the disciples had to believe that Jesus really meant what he said. Some of them were going to have to accept the fact that death is sometimes the price for believing in Jesus and in God.
That is still true today. We know that many thousands, probably millions, of people have died simply because they would not deny that Jesus was from God. The Romans killed many Christians in the first three or four hundred years of the church. Later on, other groups killed Christians because they would not deny Jesus...history is full of the stories of such deaths. Christian missionaries have been killed by pagan leaders. The Nazi concentration camps killed hundreds and thousands of ministers, priests, nuns and others who would not turn away from Christ, as well as millions of Jews. The Communists have killed thousands upon thousands. Many Christians suffered and died during the time when Muslims invaded Europe and north Africa, and during the Crusades that followed. And we know that Christians have killed other Christians who believed somewhat differently from themselves...Joan of Arc, Thomas Cranmer, John Wycliffe (who dared to translate the Bible into English), the Jesuit martyrs, people who died during the Inquisition, and even innocent women who were burned as witches simply because they were unpopular or behaved a bit differently from their neighbors.
Not all martyrs die horrid, painful deaths on the cross or by stoning or persecution. Some of us die deaths that are tiresome, long-drawn out and stressful, from a hard job well done, from an illness that cannot be cured, or from accident or war. Some of us live very ordinary and plain lives, and nobody except God and us knows the pain that we go through from raising a child alone or working faithfully at a difficult job helping others. But the word martyr means witness , and many peoples' lives witness to their faith in God and in Jesus, even if they die quietly in bed.
Just before Stephen died, he cried out that he saw heaven opening, and Jesus standing there waiting for him. St. Ambrose wrote an interesting discussion of this. He wrote:
Jesus stood as a helpmate; he stood as if anxious to help Stephen, his athlete, in the struggle. He stood, ready to crown him as a martyr. Let him then stand for you that you may not see him sitting, for he sits when he judges...he judges the imperfect, but stands to proclaim and announce his verdict...
Stephen was one of those who was a member and a minister or servant of the group called The Way. That's what the early Christians called themselves. They were not called Christians until later. They called themselves that because Jesus had said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no person comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is the Way, and Stephen, like you and I, was a follower of The Way. He trusted Jesus' words, and sure enough, The Way led him to God the Father in heaven. Jesus is
also The Truth. You might not be willing to die for a story or an invention, but you should be willing to die for the Truth as you know and understand and believe it. By following The Way and dying for The Truth, Stephen won The Life of Christ, sharing with Jesus that Life in heaven for all eternity. You and I can do that too, if we remain followers of The Way, Jesus, and teach and live The Truth, Jesus. Then, as St. Paul tells us, our life will be hid with Jesus' Life, in God. Amen.
