Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59
Matthew 10:17-22
Are you afraid to bear witness to the gospel because of persecution?
St Stephen, one of the first deacons of the Church was the first Christian martyr. He was a man filled with holy Spirit and wisdom such that his challenges could not face him in their arguments, He was an arch deacon ready to live the gospel and the time of persecution and to face trials for the sake of Christ. People are being persecuted all over the world today in Syria, Palestine, Europe, America, and our cities, towns, and villages all for the sake of Christ. This is what Jesus has commanded those who love him to do. To face challenges and to love in a godly way is what Jesus required us to do. Stephen knew that the Holy Spirit was with him and granted him counsel and fortitude so he lived validly the gospel truth and preached it. We are powerful more than we know of ourselves thanks to the spirit of the lord that rests upon us. Facing challenges and living God’s love is a profound life we are called to live. Challenges create champions and love is the virtue that lasts till the end.
The Word of God, therefore, is both the message in Person and simultaneously the means of our making that message our own. In Christ, the Almighty says everything He has to say to us, not as a coldly extrinsic message, written down, repeated once, and then discarded. The Word of God is Himself the Truth from God. That Word is forever new, forever living, dynamic and effective. At the start of creation, God brought forth order and harmony out of the raw ingredients of chaos, too are to bear witness to the truth which is Christ himself and the truth of our existence as God’s loving children.
Whoever endures to the end will be saved.
St Stephen, the first martyr -pray for us Amen.
Fr Joseph Osho