Sunday after the Nativity of Christ Commemoration of the Holy and Righteous Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James, Brother of the Lord, Tone 5; the Holy Apostle, First Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen; Our Venerable Father and Confessor Theodore the ‘Branded One’ (844)
Galatians 1:11-19; Matthew 2:13-23
No fasting or abstention from foods.
Read Galatians 1:11-19
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
St. Paul was a talented man. We can see by his writing that his claims to be highly educated were the truth. He clearly puts all his talents of oratory and writing at the service of the Lord. Most of the New Testament, after all, was written by this amazing saint, and he spread the gospel to the ends of the Roman Empire in his three missionary journeys! But it wasn’t always this way. He admits today in our reading that his many talents in the past were used to persecute the Church. He was the one responsible for watching everyone’s jackets while they stoned St. Stephen for his criticism.
However, there is one thing that both Sts. Paul and Stephen have in common, and that is humility. St. Paul is eager to boast regarding his own weaknesses, and he is the first to declare that the gospel he preaches in one which he has received. It’s not his great idea: he was called by the grace of Christ who revealed Himself to Paul. St. Stephen’s condemnation of the Jewish leaders also relies on humility. We often associate humility with a form of timid weakness, but nothing could be further from the truth! Humility is about honesty and Stephen’s humility allows him to call those leaders out for the damage they were doing to their followers and themselves through hard-heartedness. St. Stephen’s humility is shown in an even stronger manner as he forgives his murders with his final breath, just as his and our Lord did!
The incredible love of a perfect God becoming a vulnerable and weak baby for love of us is simply impossible to fathom. We have meditated on it again and again over these previous two millennia and we are no closer to “getting it” than we were before! This gospel is not an invention of the brilliance of humanity but the manifestation of the love of God. This love will forever be beyond our greatest of talents, but if we remain humble and honest, the Lord will use all our gifts to share this life-saving gospel with all the world!