All For God And God Alone

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟐𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐍, 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲𝐫

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐀𝐜 𝟔:𝟖-𝟏𝟎; 𝟕:𝟓𝟒-𝟓𝟗

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟏:𝟑-𝟒, 𝟔-𝟖, 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟏 “𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐎 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟏𝟎:𝟏𝟕-𝟐𝟐

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “..𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟐) 

          As we celebrate today the Feast of St. Stephen who is the first martyr in the history of Christianity, I believe that those who will want to step into the shoes of the Apostles should ask what happens to people who follow Jesus Christ.

         Such may be necessary because the reality is that those who do will certainly experience what Jesus went through. We probably will not be crucified like Jesus but the persecution we will face as we seek to align our lives with Jesus will amount to the same thing.

        Most of you may have read the recent reports in the newspapers and on cable TV news about thousands of Christians who were murdered in Nigeria by fundamental Muslim gangs. We may not suffer the same fate, but we cannot turn away from the trials and challenges we will face as we rise to the call to proclaim the Gospel. 

         It may also seem odd to some that after the joy of the Christmas celebration, we are now led to the story of what was considered as the first martyrdom of someone who decided to follow Jesus Christ. And it may strike in us a chord of fear and anxiety that we too might suffer the same fate as that which befell the followers of Christ. Nobody said it would be easy, not even Jesus.

         Even his first batch of disciples and or the twelve whom he named as Apostles never thought they would be in the same predicament as Jesus. They looked at him as a conquering Messiah who will deliver them from captivity by the Gentiles.

         In fact, it was based on the thought of a glorious kingdom that one of his kin asked Jesus to allow her two sons to sit on his left and the other on his right (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐𝟎:𝟐𝟏). Had they known they would live a persecuted life, would they have followed him?

         But they did follow him from what they saw in those three years that he was with them. In that brief span of time, he showed them the meaning of victory and the eternal reward that await those who will remain faithful to his Word.

         This was the assurance he made as he capped the Sermon on the Mount with these words: “𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞. 𝐑𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟓:𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟐)        

        This was the life that St. Stephen lived. He brought to life the words of Jesus in 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟔:𝟐𝟒 "𝐈𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞.” Stephen faithfully followed Jesus and he suffered for it though not in the same degree as Jesus.

         Stephen was called the first martyr which in Greek meant witness. He lived a life patterned after that of Jesus and the suffering and death Stephen experienced have been described by 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜 𝟔:𝟖-𝟏𝟎 as something that was quite similar to what Jesus underwent.

         The similarity didn’t end there. Just as Jesus saw the sky open as John baptized him with water, Stephen saw the sky open as he was being baptized in blood while he was being stoned to death. As Jesus commended his spirit to God on the cross, Stephen forgave his tormentors on his last and dying breath.

         In what way then can we relate to the martyrdom of Stephen? For one, the death of Stephen establishes the connection between Bethlehem and Calvary – the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and his passion and death on a cross? Amidst the pomp and pageantry of the Christmas celebration, we should not forget the fact that the Son of God took on a human form to redeem us from our slavery to sin and death and to give us new life as the adopted children of God.

         The Scriptures will show us that the ultimate way to glory in the kingdom of God is through the cross. And Jesus didn’t quibble when he said to his disciples and he is telling us now that if we want to share in His glory, then we too must take up our cross each day and follow in his footsteps. Jesus never hesitated to tell his disciples what they might expect if they followed him.

         As disciples of Christ, we will experience difficulties from without such as what we are now experiencing when our faith is being tested by immoral legislation such as the proposed law on divorce and the stench of graft and corruption involving ranking government officials. In fact, there are times when even members of our own families cannot comprehend our faithfulness to the Word (𝐯.𝟐𝟏).

         In this age we live in, we are still being called by God to pursue a life of faithfulness to his Word and to stand as witness to the transformation that brought us out of darkness and into the marvelous light.

         Our calling may not necessarily lead us to martyrdom as with Stephen but the message remains the same – to leave the imprint of the life of Jesus into the fiber of our own lives and we can do this by either proclaiming orally or writing about the Good News to others, by our actions such as accepting shepherding assignments, going on mission and, in our decision to turn our lifestyles into a reflection of the life of Jesus.

         In 𝐉𝐧 𝟖:𝟑𝟏 Jesus said: “𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬.” To hold on to his teachings is to listen to him and to follow him. To be persecuted is not exactly the message that we prefer to hear coming as it does after the merriment of Christmas. But lest we forget, the message of Christmas is anchored on the eternal joy that Christ brings but which we can only enjoy if we will follow in his footsteps by also laying down our lives for others.

        When I committed my life to serve God and as he turned my life around, I began to ask myself if I made the right decision. Because I cannot live a dichotomous life, I had to give up what I was doing before God brought me to the renewal. When I did, I found myself emptied of the material returns from the business I was involved in in the past. But God provided me with the kind of joy that I have been searching for in my life.

         We may not be up to it, but Our Lord gives us sufficient grace to follow him and to bear our cross with courage and hope. Living for God often brings persecution but it also provides us with the opportunity to proclaim the Good News of salvation to the world around us and those who will endure to the end will be saved (𝐯.𝟐𝟐). This is the true joy and victory that Jesus promised and which Stephen found. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘋𝘦𝘤. 26, 2025)