DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS

Wednesday, December 27, 2006                                   Proto-Martyr Stephen the Archdeacon

4th Vigil Nativity of Christ: Isaiah 1:1-10                                Apostle: Acts 6:8-15; 7:1-5, 47-60

Gospel: St. Matthew 21:33-42

 

Christ’s Martyrs: The Acts 6:8-7:8, 47-60, especially vs. 55: “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”  In his history of the early Church, The Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke calls his Gospel an account “of all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day in which He was taken up” (Acts 1:1,2).  However, The Acts is more than a simple historical or narrative sequel to St. Luke’s Gospel, for, in itself, it is an account of what the Lord Jesus continued to do and teach through His Body, the Church, immediately after He was taken up into Heaven (Lk. 24:51 and Acts 1:9). 

In the portrayal of Christ’s Martyr Stephen - as one “full of grace and power” (RSV, vs. 6:8) as one who speaks with “wisdom and the Spirit” (vs. 6:10) - our gaze turns toward the heavens to behold “the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (vs. 7:55).  The Lord Jesus is being revealed through the person of His Holy Martyr Stephen.

Just as true icons always disclose the connection between their particular subjects and the Incarnate One, so likewise St. Luke’s account of Christ’s first Martyr, Stephen, manifests the Lord Incarnate in His Church.  Let us perceive, in the account of St. Stephen’s witness, a faithful revelation of the Lord of grace and power, of wisdom and the Spirit, and of eternal Glory at the right hand of the Father.  St. Stephen is the Proto-martyr not only in the sense of being the first martyr for the Lord, but also as the proto-type of Christ’s martyrs, for all Christ’s true martyrs reveal the Lord Jesus acting and teaching through His Body, the Church.

The Lord Jesus not only is “full of grace and truth” in Himself (Jn. 1:14), but also He is the  limitless source of  “grace and truth”(Jn.1:17), for He continues to distribute grace and truth to the Faithful by the power of His Holy Spirit.  Thus, that Stephen was “full of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:55) simply explains how it was that he came to be “full of grace and power” (vs. 6:8).

This same fullness of Christ was evident in St. Paul.  In fact, the Lord told him directly, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9), which caused him to relish his infirmities, that “the power of Christ” might rest upon him (2 Cor. 12:9).  Infirm as we are, let us rejoice in Christ, that His grace and power may also touch us.

Multitudes who encountered the Lord before “He was taken up” (Acts 1:2) were astonished at His wisdom and asked, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him?” (Mk. 6:2).  St. Luke states that the Holy Spirit was “upon Him” and “filled Him” (Lk. 3:22; 4:1).  Beloved, the same Blessed Spirit of God rests upon His Body filling us, His Holy Ones, “to be witnesses to [Him]...to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Realize that St. Stephen was a witness to the Lord Jesus before he shed his blood for Him.  In the original, “martus,” means “witness” and provides us with our word “martyr,” which now, after centuries of faithful witnessing - even to death - suggests a witness who dies for the Faith.  Let us be faithful witnesses to Christ, reveal His wisdom, and, if called, share His Cross.

The Lord, the pre-eternal Word, took care to reveal His Divine glory following His Incarnation - to the Theotokos even before His birth (Lk. 1:32), while an infant to Simeon (Lk. 2:30-32), to the Forerunner at His Baptism (Mt. 3:16-17), to St. Andrew and St. John the Evangelist (Jn. 1:36), to chosen witnesses on Mt. Tabor (Mk. 9:1-7), and following His  Resurrection, to a host of witnesses of His choosing (1 Cor. 15:5-8).  He also opened the heavens to His first martyr Stephen (Acts 7:55-56) as He often has to others of His martyrs.  Let us receive Christ the Light by Whose illumination His martyrs always reveal His eternal glory.

O Holy Martyrs of Christ, by your prayers may we also faithfully witness to His grace.

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