December: Day 27: Saint Stephen the Protomartyr

December: Day 27:
Saint Stephen the Protomartyr
 
(Lessons From His Life:
a. Patience in Suffering, and
b. Love for Enemies)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Archdeacon Stephen, whose memory is celebrated today, was the first of the seven deacons (for which reason he is called "Archdeacon"), appointed by the Apostles to care for the poor. He was full of grace and spiritual power, and worked great miracles and signs among the people, converting them to faith in Jesus Christ. Some of the Jews were indignant at Stephen for this, and entered into dispute with him, but they could not resist the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke. Then they stirred up the people, seized Stephen, brought him to the tribunal, and produced false witnesses, who said that Stephen uttered blasphemous words against the Holy Temple and the Law. All who sat in the tribunal, looking at Stephen, saw his face as the face of an angel. Stephen defended himself in an animated speech and boldly reproached the Jews for their unbelief and sins. When the Jews heard this speech, they were indignant and gnashed their teeth. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." These words so enraged the Jews that they cried out in a loud voice, stopped their ears, and with one accord rushed at Stephen. Then they led him out of the city and began to throw stones at him. Meanwhile, he prayed for his enemies, and his last words were, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin!" He was the first Christian to suffer for his faith, and therefore received the title of the Protomartyr.

II. You see, brethren, how cruelly the Jews treated the innocent Protomartyr Stephen. He was a faithful servant of Jesus, a man full of faith and spiritual strength, a friend of the poor, and he performed many miracles and signs among the people: and this was enough for them to be indignant at him, to persecute him and kill him.

a) And how patiently he endured his suffering! Despite the unjust accusations and stoning, he did not lose his peace of mind, courage and patience. Why? Because he looked at Jesus, who also suffered death innocently; he thought about the reward that awaited him in the heavens open before him, and this strengthened his courage and patience. “Looking up into heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”

Christian brethren! If only we too would follow the example of the Protomartyr Stephen! Until now we have been very unlike him; we would be ashamed if we compared our impatience in suffering with the courage of Saint Stephen. We confess that in every suffering, even the most insignificant, that befalls us, we lose our calm state of mind and patience, and we faintheartedly complain and grumble. Why? Because we look only at the stones and at those who stone them, and not at Jesus Christ, who gave us an example of patience, and not at heaven, which we can deserve only by patiently enduring suffering - because we pay attention only to our suffering, and not to our sins, because of which we suffer, and even deserve much greater suffering.

b) The second lesson that we learn from the story of the sufferings of the Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, teaches us to nourish towards our enemies not a feeling of hatred, but a feeling of Christian love. While being stoned, Saint Stephen prayed to God for his murderers. The example of the Holy Protomartyr, who imitated in this respect the Lord Jesus, who prayed on the Cross for His crucifiers, was followed by all Christian martyrs. He should be imitated in our attitude towards our enemies by all of us who call ourselves Christians, if we want to be Christians not only in name, which is of no use to us, but in reality, in life.

The word of God teaches this about love for enemies:

"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that afflict you, and them that persecute you" (Matt. 5:44).

"If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for by doing this you heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:20-21).

"Be kind to one another, merciful, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph. 4:39).

The Holy Fathers of the Church teach in a similar way about love for enemies.

"There is nothing more admirable in man than love for his enemies," says Blessed Augustine. He also writes in another place: "There are many kinds of mercy by which we can receive forgiveness for our sins from God, but the surest of all is to forgive our enemies" ("Confessions").

"How can you raise your hands to heaven, how can you pray and ask for forgiveness of your sins? Even if God wanted to forgive you, you yourself hinder Him by not forgiving your brother," teaches Saint John Chrysostom.

He says in another place:

“However fierce the beasts may be by nature, yet man, by force of will, makes them tame, and you, who change the natural ferocity of beasts into unnatural meekness, what justification can you offer, changing your natural meekness into unnatural ferocity? You tame the natural fury of wild beasts, and you yourselves, gifted with all the advantages of human nature, fall into bestial rage. You make the lion submissive and obedient, and you yourself reach the ferocity of the lion. In the lion you overcome the twofold nature that resists his meekness: you overcome his nature, devoid of reason, and his natural bloodthirstiness; and you yourself destroy in yourselves the wisdom placed in you by God. Why then can you, who transform the nature of beasts, not transform your own nature, your own will? When you are admonished to curb the anger you feel toward one of your own kind, you refuse, saying that it does not depend on your personal will. What excuse and what subterfuge will you find when you make a man out of a lion, and you yourself become an indomitable lion out of a man?" (Discourse Four on Matthew).

III. Through the prayers of the Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, may the Lord grant us the strength of patience in enduring the sorrows and misfortunes of life, and the strength of love for the enemies who have caused us these misfortunes.  

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.