Monday, 8th Week of Ordinary Time

Acts 7:51-8:1

Throughout chap. 7, Stephen has been retelling the story of Israel, not as a story of God’s salvation, but of Israel’s unremitting rebellion. When he then reveals his vision of God’s court, superimposed on the human court, this is the final straw for those listening. To claim such a vision meant that Stephen was either a prophet or a blasphemer against God. Clearly, his judges concluded that the latter was the case.

Stephen is the first “martyr,” a Greek word meaning “witness.” Clearly, Stephen’s willingness to endure physical death for the sake of Jesus Christ is a powerful witness to the trust he placed in Jesus, and that we are all called to place in Jesus. But his final words are an even more powerful witness, to those who call themselves “Christian,” no less than those who don’t. Having been wrongly convicted in the court of men, Stephen looks toward the heavenly court and pleads for his enemies who are killing him, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”

On Saturday, I read an amazing article in the Religion section of the Birmingham News. Here is a pastor, calling himself Christian, who prays for the death of those with whom he disagrees. It is true that much of the language of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, is “imprecatory” in nature. It is a blessing that we have the Psalms, which capture the fullest range of human emotions and conversation with God.

Prayer is, first and foremost, a conversation with God, not a business meeting where we bring our to-do agenda for God. It is in the midst of that conversation, if we are faithful to it, that we find our emotions stirred, and our desires changed. Prayer is an ongoing conversation in which we learn what it is we should ask for, and eventually want to ask for. Thanks be to God for Stephen, who showed how much his conversation with the one who prayed for his enemies on the cross, had changed him, and can change us.