INTO YOUR HANDS
Does
it seem strange to you that on the day after Jesus’ birth we celebrate
the death of Stephen? We are brought into the stark reality that life is
so short. Our thoughts have been focused on the joy of birth, the love
of God in Jesus’ birth, and Christmas carols being sung at our
doorsteps. Yet in the midst of such joy and celebration lies death and
violence. I am reminded of Job who proclaimed that if we take happiness,
we must take sorrow as well. Oftentimes, the season of Christmas can be
the saddest time of the year for many as they remember the loss of
loved ones through tragic events.
Stephen, whom the Church celebrates today, was the first deacon consecrated
by God. You will remember that when the Apostles were feeling
overburdened by the various responsibilities of mission and
administration, they ordained men of wisdom and God filled them with the Holy Spirit. Stephen
was included among them. Great persecution followed the establishment
of the early Church communities. Stephen was caught up in the time of
great upheaval for the Church. He dies in a similar way to Jesus on the
Cross — surrendering
Himself into the Father’s hands.
At this time of Christmas, all of us are called to surrender — to give
our lives over to Jesus. We are not meant to live for ourselves, but for
the Lord alone. Stephen, being filled with the Holy Spirit and God grace, gives us
an example. Let us be open to the Spirit at work in us. The love of
God, the Holy Spirit, wants to be expressed in our lives. The birth of
Jesus, and the death of Stephen, should inspire us — that in life or
death, we belong to the Lord. The prayer of Stephen is the same prayed
by priests and religious at the Night Prayer of the Church.
Before we go to sleep, after our daily work, we offer all things to God.
Let the Spirit that inspired Stephen to surrender himself to the Lord
be the same inspiration for us. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What areas of our life are in need of the Lord’s love and wisdom? Let us hold nothing back.
Into Your hands, O Lord, I entrust my spirit. Amen.
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