St Stephen
Readings:
Acts 6: 8-10, 7: 54-59
Matthew 10: 17-22
Reflection:
Perhaps there should be a ’spoiler alert’ for the Infancy Narrative (Chapters 1 & 2) of the gospel of Matthew which we engage with during the season of Christmas. It is quickly established that Jesus is the promised Messiah from the line of David, the new Moses- a teacher like no other; and Emmanuel, God with us. Matthew does this by illustrating how Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies. There is another theme in these early chapters: the reality of the Cross shadows over them but not without hope. Even as an infant, Jesus is seen as a threat to power and is pursued with the intention of being put to death, but God’s presence and the faith of the Holy Family bring them to a place of refuge.
Today’s readings, in contrast to the joy of yesterday’s Nativity, are about suffering and persecution and bring us forward to Chapter 10. On the feast of St Stephen, we remember that his faith in Jesus cost him his life (Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59), and in the gospel (Matt 10:17-22), Jesus explains that persecution and suffering are the reality of discipleship, causing rifts in families and leading to be being hated by all. It is faith and hope that will support the followers of Jesus, the Spirit of God will be speaking in and through them.
The child born 2000 years ago was born into a broken world where fear and greed prevailed. Today, it is still a broken world, one where the statistics on suffering and persecution because of faith are staggering. But at Christmas, we remember that God is with us. God is beside us in the suffering and brokenness. God knows our pain and our humanness. That is the incarnation, and it is a source of hope.
Alison Gore is a parishioner at St Paul of the Cross, Glen Osmond. She works in education and formation.