The Feast of St. Stephen

 The Feast of St. Stephen – December 26, 2023

Psalm 119; 2 Chronicles 24:17-22; Acts 6:8-7:60

St. Matthew 23:34-39

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The word “martyr” means someone who tells others what they have seen. A martyr is a witness, one who testifies to what they have seen. The Bible and the Church have taken this word and given it a special meaning. It is reserved for those who tell others about Jesus and are killed for it. St. Stephen was the first martyr because he was the first Christian who was killed because he told people about Jesus. He told them that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, who called Abraham out of the land of the Chaldeans and promised to give his children an eternal home.

He told them that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament who was with Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is the same God who was with Joseph when his brothers tried to murder him. Jesus was with Joseph when he was sold into slavery in Egypt and when Joseph rose to be Pharaoh’s right-hand man.

Stephen told people that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament who called Moses to be His prophet. Jesus is the same God who led His people out of Egypt and stayed with them for forty years as they wandered in the desert. Stephen also told people that it was Jesus who came to dwell in the temple built by Solomon at God’s direction. In all those times and at all those places, God was with His people and this God was Jesus.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Jewish leaders of Stephen’s day, didn’t like what Stephen was saying. They didn’t believe that Jesus was God. They didn’t believe that He was the Savior who came to take away their sins. But that wasn’t the only reason they killed Stephen. They also killed him because Stephen told people what Jesus had said, “Destroy this temple and in three days, I will rebuild it.” Now, Jesus was speaking of the Temple of His body, that when they crucified Him, three days later He would rise from the grave.

The Jews believed that the Temple was the only place where God would come to them. They believed that it was the single place that united them as a nation and as a religion. Without the Temple, they would not be a people and they would not be the people of God. But Jesus very clearly taught them that the Temple was only a sign that God was with them. God had promised to be with His people, most especially in the Temple, but He never promised that the Temple would last forever, nor that it was the only place where He would be with His people. To make sure people understood this, when Jesus was crucified, He tore the Temple curtain from top to bottom, showing that He would no longer be found in the Temple. He was now with His people in His Word.

When Jesus was born of Mary, He came to be with His people in a new way. He walked and talked with His people. After His death and resurrection, He promised to be with His people always, even to the end of the Age. He is still with us. He is with us in His Word and in His Holy Sacraments. He is with us most especially in the Holy Communion, but He is also with us each and every day.

These things made the Jews of Stephen’s day angry. They were angry because of what Stephen was saying. They were angry because of what Jesus had said. They were angry because what Stephen and Jesus had said meant they were wrong. They were wrong about the Bible, and they were wrong about God. They could have listened to Stephen and Jesus. When they realized they were wrong, they could have repented, told God they were sorry, and listened to God’s Word instead of believing what they wanted to believe. Instead, they chose to kill Jesus and then to kill Stephen.

The same things happen today. People think it is weird to go to Church the day after Christmas, let alone three days after Christmas. Friends, neighbors, coworkers might make fun of you for being a Christian, for being a Lutheran. They might think you are wrong to believe that Jesus died for your sins. They might think you are wrong to believe that the most important thing in the whole world is your faith, that you trust in Jesus for your salvation. Some people might not stop with just laughing at you. They might choose not to be your friend, to take you job away from you, and yes, maybe even kill you. There are places in the world where Christians still have to meet in secret for fear that the government or others who hate Jesus will find them and kill them.

Don’t be scared by this. I’m telling you this because it is true. But even if they take away your friends, your job, or even your life, you still have the victory. You have the victory because like Stephen, you have Jesus on your side. When the Jews and the crowd picked up rocks to throw at Stephen to kill him, he looked up to heaven and saw Jesus. He saw Jesus with open arms, ready to receive Stephen into heaven. You might not be given such a blessed vision, to get to see Jesus just before death, but the truth is the same. Jesus will receive you and all the faithful into heaven with open arms. Because of that, because of the promise of Jesus to receive you and all the faithful in heaven, you have nothing to fear in this world.

And because you have nothing to fear, you can tell others about Jesus. Stephen tells the Jews and the crowds about Jesus because he wants them to believe in Jesus, too. He wants them to meet Jesus in heaven and to be with Him forever. So, he tells them about what Jesus has done, that He is the Savior who came to earth to take away our sins. He tells them to believe what Jesus has done and trust in Him to save them. You get to do that too! You get to tell people about Jesus so that they would be with you and Jesus for all time. Isn’t that wonderful?

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr

The Feast of St. Stephen – December 26, 2022

Psalm 119; 2 Chronicles 24:17-22; Acts 6:8-7:60

St. Matthew 23:34-39

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord has blessed us today, though maybe not in the way you had hoped. A storm descended upon our region, and much of our nation, during the last days leading to Christmas. The days were dark and dreary. When the sun did shine, it was dimmed by clouds and the dust of snow in the air, not to mention the bitter cold.

Although Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were likewise cold, they presented a certain calm in the weather. God gave us a physical picture of what we sang together on Christmas Eve, “When all was still and it was midnight, your almighty Word, O Lord, descended from the royal throne.”[1] He has continued with His gifts as we heard proclaimed on Christmas Day, “In [the Son of God become the Son of Man] was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”[2]

After celebrating the coming of the True Light into the world, the main body of the storm has passed. The temperatures, although still cold, are slowly rising. The sun has a new glimmer to it. The light seems brighter. In the ordering of the universe, God set the seasons such that the days would begin to lengthen at the same time that His Son descended into the world. The True Light has come, and we can now expect longer days of light.

This evening, we celebrate the faith of St. Stephen. Stephen was one of seven to be ordained deacons in the Acts of the Apostles. He, like the other deacons, set about caring for the sick and the poor, but also preaching, teaching, baptizing, and performing miracles. It is because of his bold preaching and great miracles in the Name of Jesus that the Jews from the Synagogue of the Freedmen seek to have Stephen killed.

In imitation of our Lord, Stephen is dragged before the High Priest and accused of falsehoods with no proof. When his preaching cuts to the hearts of those listening, they grind their teeth in wrath, carry Stephen outside the city, and stone him to death. It is the death of Stephen and the ensuing persecution that led the Church to grow rapidly outside the walls of Jerusalem. In this case, the blood of the martyr is clearly the seed of the church.

The false accusations against Stephen should be no surprise. He is accused of blaspheming against the Temple and against the Law of Moses. He is accused of blaspheming God and proclaiming that Jesus would change the traditions of Moses.[3] These accusations aren’t particularly clever or original. In our times, they rank right up there with “If abortion is murder so is the death penalty. You stupid Christians, you don’t even know your own beliefs.”

While the accusations may be unfounded, St. Stephen takes the time to explain his beliefs. He recounts the history of Israel but more specifically, he recounts the places in which God has been with His people—all prior to the Tabernacle or the Temple. He specifically mentions that God came to Abraham before he dwelt in Haran, while he was yet in Mesopotamia. Father Abraham, although he received great promises from God, did not receive the promised land in his lifetime. He did not see children numbered to rival the stars. He did not see sons as kings. The only land given to him was a tomb in which to bury Sarah.

Then, rather than telling the stories of Isaac or Jacob, Stephen speaks next of the Patriarchs and how they came to dwell in Egypt. What the brothers meant for evil, God meant for good in sending Joseph into Egypt. Israel came to dwell in Egypt and greatly prospered, until the coming of a Pharaoh who did not remember the Patriarchs.

Despite dwelling in Egypt, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt with His people. He struck Egypt with the plagues and drew His people out of that foreign land. Before He could draw them into the land promised to their fathers, however, the children of Israel rebelled against God. They rebelled against Moses. They desired gods of their own making, worshiping the creations of their hands rather than the hand of the True God who had delivered them.

So you see, the Tabernacle and the Temple are not the exclusive dwelling place of God. It is a true statement to say that God is on the golf course just as much as He is in the Church, or the home, or the restaurant, or the prison cell, or the death bed. Heaven is His throne and the earth His footstool. How could the Almighty God, who places His feet upon the whole earth, be confined to one Temple, Tabernacle, Church, or Cathedral? He cannot.

At the same time, God is the one who commanded the building of the Tabernacle. When David desired to build a home for God, the Lord refused to allow it. It wasn’t until God had given this task to Solomon that the Temple was built. These places were given to man so that man could be confident in the presence of God. Prayers said in the Church building are not more readily heard by God than those said at home. However, as man is a fleshly creature, the Church building is a space that has been set apart for prayer. It has been set apart for the worship of the Triune God. It has been set apart for the receiving of God’s Word and Holy Sacraments.

Thus, the Church building is different from all other buildings. It has its own furniture, features, sights, smells, textures, and sounds. It is different for the sake of man. The Church is built for man, not man for the Church.

As such, it is to be a physical embodiment of God’s Word. This physicality is something objective, brought to you rather than supplied by your desire. To look in any direction ought to direct one’s mind toward the Word of God. The sounds that emanate from the Church should recall nothing but the Word of God, His glory, His grace, and His Sacraments. Even the smells of the Church are to be unique. Scientists will tell us that smell is the sense most closely related to memory. Whether that is true or not, all our sense should be active when we worship God. The totality of our mortal flesh is engaged in this worship. Thanks be to God that He has not forgotten any of our senses when bringing to us His Word and Sacraments.

What, then, is the result of this physical training in the things of God? Why is it beneficial to engage your entire self in receiving God’s Word? There may come a day, and it grows more likely every day, that you are called upon to make a confession like that of Stephen. Perhaps it won’t be so grand. Perhaps it will be while you are ordering a new sofa and the salesman asks what the difference between Lutherans and Catholics is.

In such a situation, you ought to be ready to confess your faith. Every service we confess our faith in the words of either the Nicene or Apostles’ creeds. These are an outstanding place to begin but if you are only practiced at reciting them as part of a large group, it will be difficult to remember in a private conversation. Even if you can remember it at the opportune time, there will inevitably be questions to follow.

Therefore, we must be practiced in our faith. We must spend time reading, hearing, and speaking God’s Word. Begin by having conversations concerning Godly topics with your husband, wife, parents, friends, or neighbors. Having lunch with another member of this church and discussing the sermon or the readings from the previous Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to exercise the faith of your tongue in a safe environment.

 The Word of God and holy conversation are habits. The more you attend to them, the easier they become. The less you attend to them, the easier they become to ignore. We are not given the topics of St. Stephen’s lunch conversations, but we do know that he was full of faith and the Holy Spirit.[4] We know that when called to confess what he believed concerning the Law and the Temple, he was able not only to proclaim the truth of God’s dwelling and righteousness, but also to call the false teachers of the Jews to repentance.

The zeal of the Lord consumed him and for this, the reproaches of those who hate God fell upon him.[5] The wrath of the High Priest and the Jews is directed toward God, not Stephen. He is simply the mouthpiece proclaiming the divine truth. Yes, this hatred fell upon Stephen but not because of his person. This is the reason he can pray for his murderers, even as they bend to pick up the instruments of his death, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”[6]

We have the holy privilege of the same. We have the holy calling to proclaim God’s Word to all. If they hear and receive that Word, thanks be to God! The angels in heaven will rejoice as one sinner repents. But if they reject the words of our mouths, if they spit upon you and shame you, if they cast you into prison, it is not because of you. It is because they hate God. They hate the Word you speak. They have hardened their own hearts against you and against God. For these, there is no hope.

But for you there is. There is certainty. As the mob is grinding their teeth, Stephen looks up and sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.[7] After reciting the many and various places God has dwelt with His people, St. Stephen now sees the Incarnate Lord dwelling with him. He sees the heavens opened and the Son of God welcoming Stephen to his eternal home.

Whether visible to your eyes or not, the same Son of God is near to you. He is with you at home, in the Church, at prayer, and at the hospital bed. He is with you wherever His Word and the Holy Spirit are present. You, beloved of the Lord, are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God has entered your heart and filled you with faith. Treasure up this Word and hold it dear, for it is the certainty that Jesus is with you always, prepared to receive you into glory.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-15.

[2] St. John 1:4-5.

[3] Acts 6:11-14.

[4] Acts 6:5.

[5] Psalm 69:5-10.

[6] Acts 7:60.

[7] Acts 7:55-56.