St. Stephen, the first Martyr
Acts 6: 8-10, 7: 54-59; Mt 10: 17-22
Persecutions and Martyrdom have never been alien to Christian Faith. St. Stephen is the first Biblical evidence to it. Continuing in the line of the prophets and persons of God who have been treated at will by the world in the Old Testament, we see Jesus and most of his disciples facing the same end in the New Testament. Some one posted on the facebook yesterday saying they were offended when they heard the congregation praying for Christians in Iraq and the person questioned: "Why only Christians? Why not others?" Infact, 'Christians in Iraq' should by now be a collective term for us...it should stand for and remind us of every person persecuted for truth, every person tortured unjustly, every person discriminated and trampled under the tyranny of violence and force!
St. Stephen knew what it meant to suffer for Christ; it meant suffering for the things that really matter; it meant standing for true beliefs and convictions that can elevate your spirit to the heavens open and the angels coming down! It was Stephen who also imitated his Master literally: While Jesus prayed for those who crucified him and offered his spirit into the hands of his loving Father, Stephen prayed for those who stoned him and surrendered his spirit into Jesus' hands.What an example for us to emulate!