It is generally accepted that the first Christian Martyr was Saint Stephen. [Acts 7:54-60]. Despite the barbarism of the mode of his death, Stephen was stoned, there is something wonderful about he unfolding events which blow the sides out of any neat packaging we may use to contain our faith.
Stephen was in front of the Sanhedrin, the tribunal I wrote about last week. As Peter had done before him, Stephen told the court how the prophesies of the Old Testament were built into the picture of what Jesus had done. The final comment as Saint Luke records it, was that these officials had always resisted the Holy Spirit; he said they were stiff necked, and that enraged them. Stephen was encouraged though because he looked up and saw Jesus standing beside God.
Have you ever had the privilege of talking to someone who has seen Jesus? His appearances are not confined to the days of his bodily resurrection before his ascension. Others have seen him too and told their stories. We cannot know what Stephen actually saw, but whatever it was, it gave him the strength and serenity to see through the melee around him to a place in heaven.
The contention of the Sanhedrin may be far removed from the things we all face, but there is nothing that says that Jesus is not waiting to receive each of us to a life of justice and peace beyond the turbulence and partiality of society and all its systems and ways.
I have my idea of what Stephen saw, and I hope that if you read Acts 6 and 7 you may have your idea too. For my part, I find it almost beyond words and thinking about it has always made me stop short.
A prayer
Lord Jesus, there are times when we are unsure about life and the ways of the world. In those times, help us to look up, wordless, and absorb the peace you give that passes all understanding. Amen.