HOMILY OF ST STEPHEN, DEACON AND MARTYR

HOMILY OF ST STEPHEN, DEACON AND MARTYR

HOMILY THEME: Buckle Up Buttercup, It’s Gonna Be A Bumpy Ride!

BY: Deacon Bill Frere

Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59; Matthew 10:17-22

Church of Dormition, Jerusalem

Can we all agree that no one likes going to the dentist? All it takes are those couple of words – this might hurt a little – to send us into a panic! I mean, seriously? MIGHT? A LITTLE? And yet whether we are a child or an adult, we do end up sitting there and letting them do their digging and probing. And for what? To get that perfect smile? To get rid of that cavity or remove that dead tooth? Through that pain, there was still a reward, if only the end to the pain.

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Today is the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. And it seems very odd that we would go from the joy and celebration of Christmas Day right into observing the death of a martyr. But there is a good reason. Thought to be lost, the bones of St. Stephen were miraculously discovered on this day back in 415 AD. Stephen was one of 7 who were appointed by the Apostles to be deacons – called to minister to the widows and orphans of Jerusalem, particularly those whose fathers were martyred for the faith in the first century. He proclaimed his faith by his preaching and his ministry. He suffered for his faith in this life and we believe he was rewarded with glory in the next.

It is what Jesus speaks about in today’s Gospel. Following Me will not be easy! It’s going to be a bumpy painful ride. You will be hated and abused, persecuted and mocked for your Faith. But do not worry! The Holy Spirit will be with you and support you! And in the end, you will be saved! Jesus knew, Stephen knew, that all who believe in Him will experience suffering in this life. But that promise of eternal life, bursting forth into this world with the birth of a little child in Bethlehem, remains our hope and our salvation.

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