Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51-60
Feast of St. Stephen
December 26th, 2021
“In His Footsteps”
The Christian Church marks December 26th as a
special remembrance for the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. And so with
rare departure from the lectionary today, our sermon will focus on Stephen as a
lens through which we may see Christ.
Stephen, like all the saints, serves as a model of faith and as an
example of God working powerfully in the life of his people. We give thanks for the saints, and remember
them, chiefly because they point us to Christ.
Stephen was chosen as one of the 7 deacons to assist the 12
apostles in distributing food to the needy, we read how Stephen's bold
proclamation of Christ leads to his untimely demise at the hands of angry
Jewish opponents. After holding their ears and shouting so as not to hear his
message, they stone him to death. Here’s
text from Acts 6 and 7….
Perhaps because St. Stephen was a martyr whose main service (as
a deacon) was to help the poor – we have a more recent story about a Christian
ruler around 900 A.D., King Wenceslas – who is also remembered for helping the
poor. The Christmas hymn in his honor (from the late 1800s) begins:
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
I won't sing the whole thing... but the hymn goes on to tell
of a supposed miracle involving the king, when he went walking through the snow
on his way to help a poor peasant. The king's servant found warmth as he
followed the king through the snow. The legend tells that the king's footprints
radiated heat and kept his servant warm in the bitter cold.
Tradition then tells us that Wenceslas was murdered by his
brother, partly because Wenceslas was a proponent of Christianity, and did
things like defending priests from persecution. So perhaps, one could say, by
helping the poor and dying for his faith, King Wenceslas followed in St.
Stephen's footsteps.
Stephen, for his part, is regarded as the first Christian
martyr. His symbol includes three stones and a palm branch. Of course, because
he was stoned to death, and a palm branch reminding us of how the martyrs are
pictured in Revelation – waving palm branches – a symbol of victory even though
their blood was shed.
Some might say that we too, should follow in the footsteps
of Stephen and Wenceslas, and of course, of Jesus. That the lesson here is for
us to feed the poor, do good for the kingdom, proclaim God's word, whatever –
to follow in their footsteps. To learn from their example. And while certainly
these are good things to do, there's a bit of a problem.
We're not so good at following in those kinds of footsteps.
In fact, we more often fall on our faces. Rather than boldly proclaiming God's
word, we more often find our foot in our mouth. Think about it.
You feel good about yourself because you made a point of
saying Merry Christmas to a store cashier. But then you go home and gossip
about your friend. You put a dollar in the red pot with the bell-ringer, but
you speak unkindly and think in anger toward your own family. You may blame it
on stress, or a long to-do list with little time to do it, but the real problem
is that all of us are entangled and tripped up by our own sins. And rather than
fancy ourselves graceful footstep followers, we should be honest about our
clumsy and wandering ways.
What a wonder that Christ walks in OUR footsteps. His walk
is graceful, and it is full of grace for us. He becomes a human, takes on human
flesh, body, eyes, ears, hands, feet. He walks a perfect walk of the law,
something we could never do. And he walks the way of the cross – a path to face
God's wrath, so we don't have to. Whatever we do for him, imperfect as it may
be, is only because of what he has done for us.
Stephen did follow in the footsteps of Christ, but by the
power of the Holy Spirit. And if we do anything well or good, it is to God's
credit and not to ours.
First of all, take Stephen's bold proclamation. No fear
stood in the way of his witness. He plainly laid out his proclamation, no
matter the consequences. And consequences there were. He followed Christ in
this way – who paid the consequences for speaking truth to those same powerful
men. Like Christ, Stephen commended his spirit to God, even with his dying
breath – and so may we follow in those footsteps in our last hour.
But best of all for Stephen, he trusted in Christ. And here
is the ultimate example to follow. That even in the face of death at the hands
of evil men, we belong to Christ. That nothing, not even death, can separate us
from Christ's love. That our sins are forgiven. Our filthy feet, our guilty
hands, indeed our whole body is washed in baptismal water and divine blood
For Stephen's prayer, following in the footsteps of Christ,
is answered. “Do not hold this sin against them”. Jesus prayed, “Father forgive
them.” Jesus makes that prayer a reality.
So it is for us. Forgive us our trespasses, Lord, as we
forgive those who trespass against us. May we follow in the footsteps of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Forgive as we have been forgiven. Love as we have been
loved. Give as we have received. And even carry our own crosses.
Following in his footsteps isn't always easy or without
pain. Stephen and so many other martyrs found this out the hardest way. But
Christ and his cross make even this suffering worthwhile. For we know where the
path leads. Our forerunner went from cross to tomb to life again.
Stephen, as he died, saw heaven opened and Jesus at the
right hand of God. And we know that
Christ is there preparing a place for us.
And so shall we go, like Stephen – from this world of
sorrows, to a blessed death, commending ourselves to his care, to a
resurrection in glory and life eternal with him.
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