Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Acts 7:51-8:1a
Stephen's Address to the Sanhedrin
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(Stephen addressed the Sanhedrin,) [51] "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. [52] Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, [53] you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."
The Martyrdom of Stephen
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[54] Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth against him. [55] But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into Heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; [56] and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." [57] But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him. [58] Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. [59] And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." [60] And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Persecution of the Church
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[1a] And Saul was consenting to his death.
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Commentary:
55-56. "It is clear", St. Ephraem comments, "that those who suffer for Christ enjoy the glory of the whole Trinity. Stephen saw the Father and Jesus at His side, because Jesus appears only to his own, as was the case with the Apostles after the Resurrection. While the champion of the faith stood there helpless in the midst of those who had killed the Lord, just at the point when the first martyr was to be crowned, he saw the Lord, holding a crown in His right hand, as if to encourage him to conquer death and to show that he inwardly helps those who are about to die on his account. He therefore reveals what he sees, that is, the heavens opened, which were closed to Adam and only opened to Christ at the Jordan, but open now after the Cross to all who share Christ's sufferings, and in the first instance open to this man. See how Stephen reveals why his face was lit up: it was because he was on the point of contemplating this wondrous mission. That is why he took on the appearance of an angel--so that his testimony might be more reliable" ("Armenian Commentary, ad loc.").
57-59. The cursory trial of Stephen ends without any formal sentence of death: this Jewish tribunal was unable to pass such sentences because the Romans restricted its competence. In any event no sentence proves necessary: the crowd becomes a lynching party: it takes over and proceeds to stone Stephen, with the tacit approval of the Sanhedrin.
Tradition regards Stephen as the first Christian martyr, an example of fortitude and suffering for love of Christ. "Could you keep all God's commandments," St. Cyprian asks, "were it not for the strength of patience? That was what enabled Stephen to hold out: in spite of being stoned he did not call down vengeance on his executioners, but rather forgiveness.... How fitting it was for him to be Christ's first martyr, so that by being, through his glorious death, the model of all the martyrs that would come after him, he should not only be a preacher of the Lord's Passion, but should also imitate it in his meekness and immense patience" ("De Bono Patientiae", 16).
Martyrdom is a supreme act of bravery and of true prudence, but to the world it makes no sense. It is also an _expression of humility, because a martyr does not act out of bravado or overweening self-confidence; he is a weak man like anyone else, but God's grace gives him the strength he needs. Although martyrdom is something which happens rarely, it does show Christians what human nature can rise to if God gives it strength, and it establishes a standard, both real and symbolic, for the behavior of every disciple of Christ.
"Since all the virtues and the perfection of all righteousness are born of love of God and one's neighbor," St. Leo says, "in no one is this love more worthily found than in the blessed martyrs, who are nearest to our Lord in terms of imitation of both His charity and His Passion.
"The martyrs have been of great help to others, because the Lord has availed of the very strength as He granted them to ensure that the pain of death and the cruelty of the Cross do not frighten any of His own, but are seen as things in which man can imitate Him....
"No example is more useful for the instruction of the people of God than that of the martyrs. Eloquence is effective for entreating, argument for convincing; but examples are worth more than words, and it is better to teach by deeds than by speech" ("Hom. on the Feast of St. Laurence").
The Second Vatican Council has reminded us of the excellence of the martyrdom as a form of witness to the faith. Although there are heroic ways of imitating and following our Lord which do not involve the drama of bloodshed and death, all Christians should realize that confession of the faith in this way is not a thing of the past and is sometimes necessary.
"Since Jesus, the Son of God, showed His love by laying down His life for us, no one has greater love than he who lays down his life for Him and for his brothers (cf. 1 John 3:16; John 15:13). Some Christians have been called from the beginning, and will always be called, to give this greatest testimony of love to all, especially to persecutors. Martyrdom makes the disciple like his Master. [...] Therefore, the Church considers it the highest gift and supreme test of love. And although it is given to few, all must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.
"Likewise the Church's holiness is fostered [...] by the manifold counsels which the Lord proposes to His disciples in the Gospel" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 42).
The Liturgy of the Church sums up the asceticism and theology of martyrdom in the preface for Christian martyrs: "Your holy martyr followed the example of Christ, and gave his life for the glory of Your name. His death reveals Your power shining through our human weakness. You choose the weak and make them strong in bearing witness to You."
Like Jesus, Stephen dies commending his soul to God and praying for his persecutors. At this point St. Luke brings in Saul who cooperates in the proceedings by watching the executioners' clothes; Saul will soon experience the benefits of Stephen's intercession. "If Stephen had not prayed to God, the Church would not have had Paul" (St. Augustine, "Sermons", 315, 7).
Stephen has died, but his example and teaching continue to speak across the world.