Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 20, 2008
Text: Acts 7:55-60
During the seven Sundays of Easter we are using our first readings from the Acts of the Apostles as texts for our sermons. This morning’s text recounts the martyrdom of Stephen. Stephen is a second-generation Christian. He, along with six other men, were appointed and consecrated by the original Apostles to be deacons in the Church. Their function was service – to oversee the daily distribution of food to the believers.
These seven were chosen because they were men of faith and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. In the case of two of these new deacons, Stephen and Philip, the Holy Spirit not only empowered them for the ministry of service, but also for a ministry of preaching.
Our first reading this morning records the response of the listeners who heard Stephen’s sermon. Their response was “with a loud shout all rushed together against him. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him.” I am particularly thankful that none of my sermons so far has received that kind of violent response.
What is striking about Stephen’s martyrdom is the close parallelism with Jesus’ martyrdom. When Jesus was crucified he prayed for his executioners, saying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Stephen prayed to Jesus asking forgiveness for those stoning him, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” At the moment of his death, Stephen knelt down and prayed, “Lord Jesus receive my spirit.” At the moment of Jesus’ death, he prayed, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” These parallel references indicate that through the generations of followers of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus continues, including martyrdom.
Now back to Stephen’s sermon – what did Stephen say that a mob turned on him? In Stephen’s sermon he accuses his listeners of their unfaithfulness to God throughout their history. He says that just as your ancestors killed the prophets in the past, so now have you killed Jesus, the Son of God. Stephen concludes his sermon with these condemning words, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.”
The text then tells us, “Now when his listeners heard this, they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at Stephen.” They acted on their rage and killed Stephen.
However, is not Stephen’s proclamation the same as Peter’s in his sermon we heard two Sundays ago? The conclusion to Peter’s sermon was, “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Peter’s words were just as condemning as Stephen’s. Peter convicted his listeners of their unfaithfulness and their guilt. Their original convictions about Jesus were wrong; Jesus was the Lord and Messiah.
But what was the response of Peter’s listeners? We are told, “Now when they heard this, it cut them to the heart and they said to Peter, “What shall we do?”
What a contrast! The hearts of Peter’s listeners were seized with remorse. The hearts of Stephen’s listeners were seized with seething rage. Yet Peter and Stephen proclaimed the same message. Both Peter and Stephen convicted their listeners of being the betrayers and murderers of God’s Lord and Messiah. One group accepted their guilt; the other group violently rejected the accusations.
What would our response be to either of these sermons? Would we be cut to the heart with repentance, or would our hearts be enraged with rejection?
The part of the story that Jesus is raised from the dead and now lives among us will probably not cut our hearts. However, the part where Jesus is standing at the right hand of God and ruling over us – Jesus reigning supreme over our lives – that is what could enrage our hearts.
At the very core of our very being, we are very defensive and protective of whom we want reigning over us. The core of our being is where lies the truth of who we are. There we know the wrongs we have done, and the good we have left undone. There we keep the secrets of our lives. There we have erected the walls and barriers to keep the truth about us from being known.
When we allow a person to rule over us or to become close to us, that person comes to know the truth of who we are. Our barriers are let down. Now someone else knows the truth about us.
Our response can either be that of sincere remorse, or it can be that of seething rage. Our remorse will open to us repentance in which our past is forgiven and our future is filled with the promise of new life to come. Our seething rage, on the other hand, makes us to lash out at our ruler, as we defiantly defend ourselves against the accusations. We close in on ourselves not wanting the truth about us to be known.
Peter’s sermon evoked repentance in his listeners. Stephen’s sermon evoked rage in his listeners. No matter what the response was, the truth was still the same – Jesus is Lord and Messiah, alive and ruling over us all.
The truth about our lives is that Jesus is Lord and Messiah. He is raised from the dead to live among us and to reign supreme over our lives. His truth trumps all that can be said about us.
When we accept Jesus to be our Lord and Messiah as did the listeners to Peter’s sermon, our repentance and baptism blesses us with forgiveness, deliverance form death and everlasting salvation. Jesus’ truth sets us free from what we are to what we can be.
When we reject Him as did the listeners of Stephen’s sermon, rage fills our hearts. The truth turns in on us. Trapped, we continue to be who we are. Like a cornered animal, we are eager to get rid of or deny the intruding ruler.
However, we can’t. Our Lord and Messiah, Jesus is raised from the dead. He committed his spirit to the Father in heaven. He now stands at the right hand of God and reigns over us.
But we need not to be afraid. Christ rules over us, making the truth about us to always be that of God’s forgiveness, new life and salvation.
Paraphrasing what Jesus said in our Gospel reading, we hear him tell us, “Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. I am the truth that will lead you to your Father in heaven.”