Divine Service (Dec 26th: St. Stephen, Martyr)

St. Stephen, “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5), was one of the Church’s first ordained deacons.  As a Hellenized Jew, he was appointed by the leaders of the church to deliver food and other needs to the poor in the growing Christian community in Jerusalem.  This allowed the apostles more time for the public ministry of proclamation (Acts 6:2-5).  He and the other ordained deacons were expected not only to wait on tables but also to teach and preach. 

When some of his colleagues became jealous of Stephen, they brought him to the Sanhedrin and falsely charged him with blaspheming against Moses (Acts6:9-14).  Stephen’s confession of faith, besides his rebuke of the Sanhedrin for rejecting their Messiah, so angered them that they dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death.

Today, we honor Stephen as the Church’s first martyr and for his faithful words as he lay dying: “Lord, receive my spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59-60).  As Stephen was being stoned, a young rabbi named Saul held the clothes of those who were stoning Stephen (Acts 8:1; 22:20). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Stephen’s understanding of the Temple and the Law–because of Jesus’ death and resurrection–helped to lay the foundation for the universal proclamation of the Gospel and define Christianity as more than a Jewish sect.