The Divine Power in Human Testimony!

Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59; Mt 10:17-22

The feast of St. Stephen highlights the Divine Power at work in those who suffer for the sake of God’s Kingdom. 

The first reading throws light on the Divine wisdom and spirit at work in Stephen. When his enemies cannot defeat him in debate, they resort to violence to silence him. Stephen’s martyrdom demonstrates the clear difference between God’s people and His haters. When his enemies are fueled by hatred for him, Stephen radiates grace. After all, one can only give out what one has!

There is something more insightful about Stephen’s testimony moments before his death. It is the reaction of his enemies to his testimony. The Bible reads, ‘They cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.’ They ‘cried out’ loudly to overcome the deafening power of Stephen’s testimony. They ‘covered’ their ears, lest they were afraid it would change them. They ‘rushed upon’ him together so that they would not have to put up with his powerful testimony anymore. Eliminating Stephen was so urgently felt by his haters because of the way he bore God in him. 

Such is the power that Jesus alludes to in the Gospel when we are persecuted for the sake of God. Jesus assures us that the defense will not be from us but from God, whom they will find hard to overpower, as happens in the example of Stephen. Because Stephen was radiating the Divine in his life and words, it was hard for them to conquer him. 

And there is something more in Stephen’s martyrdom. 

Who would have imagined that Saul, who was an accomplice to the murder of Stephen, was being transformed by the Divine Power so that as Paul, he would find himself in the shoes of St. Stephen before long?

Let us pray that we may realize the gift of Divine Power in us to manifest it in our lives. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar