[stephenkhoo]

Monday, 26 December, 2011, Feast of St Stephen, Protomartyr
A NEW BIRTH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 6:8-10, 7:54-59; MATTHEW 10:17-22
Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, which took place more than 2,000 years ago. Why do we celebrate Christmas? Surely, it is not merely the commemoration of a great man who had lived an inspiring life. It is also not akin to the celebration of birthdays that we all partake in for our family members and loved ones among us. No, the real purpose of the Christmas celebration is not reducible to a nostalgic and sentimental affair recalling beautiful memories of the past. Rather, the reason for our celebration, unlike the secularized and commercialized celebration of Christmas in the world, is namely that Christ our Light has come to give us life. He has come to give us a rebirth; a new life. For those who come to know Him, He is the Light of the world and the Prince of peace. Through Christ, we come to realize our true identity as sons and daughters of God. Through Christ, the Eternal Son of God who assumes our humanity, we are reconciled with the Eternal Father. Through Christ, sinners are saved and redeemed. Through Christ, pagans and gentiles are given new life. Through Christ, holy people await their crown of glory.

This explains the apparent turn of events from that of a peaceful and tranquil climate of calmness and quiet meditation to that of violence and death in today’s scripture readings. We would think that the Church should continue to preserve that romantic, joyful and peaceful feeling. Apparently such peace did not last long! And how true this is! Realistically, some of us on Christmas or today, find that turmoil in our hearts have already begun. Quarrels at home have started, work demands our urgent attention and we see the ugliness of Church politics. In our personal lives, perhaps our health needs attention, especially after so much merry making, and maybe a surgery is pending.

The peace that Christ brings therefore is not without a price! That would be false peace. The Devil and the world will not allow us to have that peace. They will make our lives difficult because they oppose the true peace that comes from recognizing that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the Saviour of our lives, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. This is what we read the first day, right after Christmas on the feast of St Stephen. St Stephen was faced with opposition from his fellow Jews and the religious leaders of his day. He was brought before the Sanhedrin to answer their charges. But St Stephen, without mincing his words, spoke fearlessly and even threw down the gauntlet, leveling on them a harsh judgment saying, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him — you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” Of course, such uncompromising and condemnation could not remain unchallenged. “They were infuriated when they heard what he said, and ground their teeth at him.”

However, the climax of it all was St Stephen’s testimony and confession of faith in Christ when looking “into heaven…saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand”, he cried out, “I can see heaven thrown open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” This was of course the last straw and they were greatly incensed by his audacity. “At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him.” St Stephen thus became the first martyr, which means a witness to Christ as the Eternal Son of God. With his confession of faith, he was born into a new life again ironically, reborn into Christ, for he entered into heaven and shares the life of Christ with His Father.

Christmas, therefore, is an invitation not primarily to just contemplate the birth of Christ, but in order that we too might share in the rebirth in Christ as well. This takes place the moment we accept Christ in baptism, when we put on Christ and receive His Spirit as St Stephen did. In fact, he was able to live out the life of Christ and bear witness to Him only because as the first reading tells us, he was “filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people” and again, it was by the same Holy Spirit that he “gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God.” And finally, it was the Holy Spirit that enabled him to give his life totally to the Lord by commending his spirit in the manner of Christ when he, too, prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

St Stephen truly lived in Christ in his death. The fullness of life promised to him is now complete at his giving up of his spirit for the Spirit of God. This is the ultimate rebirth that can give us lasting peace, joy, freedom and fulfillment. Even as we celebrate Christmas, we are awaiting the final rebirth which comes at the Second Coming of Christ anticipated by the First Coming of Christ as Christmas. This Second Coming for most of us would have already come in an anticipative way when we reach our final day on earth.

Today’s liturgy, whilst apparently a celebration of death, is actually a celebration of the true Christmas, the real birth into Christ. In a paradoxical way, the mysteries of life are juxtaposed together. But isn’t this the reality of life? Life and death are always intimately related. A baby is born into the world crying. And when we die, we leave this world crying as well. When someone dies, another will live. When someone lives, another will die. With the death of St Stephen, Saul was converted because of the seed of faith sowed by St Stephen. His blood and that of the other Christians became the seed for faith. This is true in every aspect of life. A spouse has to die so that the other spouse can live. Parents have to die so that their children can live. Parents have to let go of their children as they grow up so that they can find their own unique identities. A priest too must die so that the people of God can live. The more he dies and becomes more Christ-like, the holier his flock will become. A young man too must die so that society can live and find hope in life. This then is the truth of life; being born, dying and being born again.

Hence, let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that Christian peace is pure pacification and a life without worries, challenges, anxieties, pain and suffering. Christian peace comes from Christ within us, when we are doing the right thing and following our conscience as led by the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus is exhorting us in the gospel. He warned us that Christian peace involves this, “Beware of men: they will hand you over to the Sanhedrin and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans.” We might be persecuted by family members, colleagues and supervisors, but lest we lose our peace, Jesus assures us thus, “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.” That is to say, our peace is founded as St Stephen’s was, being one with Christ, sharing in His Spirit. Truly, when Jesus was on earth as the Prince and Man of peace and the messenger of the Good News, He suffered violence more than anyone of us! Yet He was at peace.

Why is this so? Because Jesus trusted in His Father’s fidelity to Him, just as St Stephen did in imitation of his master. Christ knew that God His Father was in charge. He knew that what we see might seem a failure or a disaster, but God in His wisdom and providence will turn everything to our good. On hindsight, perhaps if St Stephen was more compromising, he would not have been killed and might even win some over. But this is also debatable. There are times in life when soft talk cannot work and effect changes, as some need to be jolted out of their slumber. Then again, when Jesus prophesied, “Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death”, such experiences we face in conflict will lead to a greater mutual understanding and conversion eventually. Each must do what he is called to do at a particular point of time. There is no blueprint solution that works at every situation. God’s providential ways are not our ways. One person’s mistake could be the cause of his conversion or that of another. This is so even when our mistakes inflict misery on others, especially those who are innocent. But when viewed from the perspective of grace, mistakes are often the tools by which He builds us into a new creation and a house fit for God to dwell in. Such is the wisdom of God.

This is why we need to always be in prayer and in touch with the Spirit of God like St Stephen. He was a man filled with grace and the Holy Spirit. Jesus warned that we “will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.” How can we stand firm unless we remain in God? Isn’t this what Isaiah said, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:9). Like the psalmist, Christ too must have prayed the same prayer as St Stephen did, “Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety. You are my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me. Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God. I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.” Yes, let us trust and have confidence in the Lord that whilst we begin this slow and difficult process of being reborn in Christ, it is certain that He will “rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.”