OK, here's the situation, Jesus ascended and those who follow the resurrected Christ are called, 'followers of the way.' This story probably took place within a year of the first Easter. How Stephen came onto the scene was that many followers thought Jesus was returning very soon. When they joined the movement, they sold all they had and gave it to the apostles and from that common fund, those who had need could ask for help and receive it. Also from that common fund, food was bought and distributed to the followers and to the hungry. Earlier, however, it came to the attention of the apostles that the distribution of the funds and food were uneven, with some groups getting preference over others. To correct the problem, the apostles asked the community to nominate two people they trusted. Let us pause for a second and see how healthy this is. The apostles tell the people that their job is to pray and share the gospel. They don't believe that they should be doing everything and don't want to do everything, so they delegate the responsibility to others. They have set good boundaries and have learned to say no, we can't do everything. It is interesting that they ask the people to bring forth seven persons to oversee this and Stephen was one of the seven chosen. Within the early Christian community, Stephen was highly regarded who people said he spoke well and could perform wonders, just like the apostles.
Although the apostles and early followers of the way proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, they still considered themselves Jews and still worshipped within the synagogues. As you can imagine, or if you can imagine, this caused a lot of controversy in the local synagogues and within the Jewish religion. Those who conspired to kill Jesus believed that once he was gone, he followers and following would dissipate and they wouldn't have to worry about them anymore. The Romans are still in charge, the world is becoming small and much more complicated, and now there's this small band of believers that are preaching something new and disrupting how things are done. The apostles and early followers were being dragged in front of the councils of the synagogues to answer for their words and their beliefs. In the previous chapter, Stephen was quickly dragged in front of one by false accusations. If you read the beginning of chapter 7, you will hear a good interpretation of the scriptures concerning Jesus and how he was the Messiah by Stephen. And he might have gotten away with it, but he turned on his attackers and called them a stiff-necked people whose ancestors killed the prophets who were sent to them, working to oppose the Holy Spirit, and laid the death of Jesus at their feet. This was too much so shouted that he was committing blasphemy and then we get to our scriptures, where Stephen has a vision, they stone him, and he prays that this sin is not held against them.
There is a good movie that I recently watched, recommended by Mason Watts. He pops in here every now and then between his travels. It is called "Mary Magdalene" and can be checked out at our local library. He brought it to church last week and I am glad he did. In it, we find Jesus talking to people of Israel who want freedom from the Roman occupiers and he asks how long will they hold all this hate in their hearts against the Romans. After Jesus is killed, Mary Magdalene asks Peter how long will he hold hate in his heart? Jesus upon the cross, and even while the nails were being driven into his body, forgives them as they, 'know not what they do'. Stephen, while he is being stoned, receives a vision of the kingdom and asks that their sin of violence not be held against them.
In our time, there is a lot of hate out in the open through social media, on television, radio, and out in the streets. There is a lot that could be said about the rise of Christian nationalism happening in our country and authoritarianism around the world. But the question is are we going to add to the hate? This does not mean we hold our tongues or meekly submit to whatever they demand. For Stephen, right before they stone him, call his accusers a 'stiff-necked' people who have perverted the law of God sent to them. But this does mean that we examine our own hearts, words, and actions to make sure that hate has not overtaken us. We should be angry that history of any people not white is being erased. We should be angry that women and transgendered youth are being denied healthcare in some states. We should be angry there is still inadequacies in our society where people can work full time and still live in poverty. We should be angry that books and families are being banned from local schools and community libraries. We should be angry that life on this planet is being destroyed, thousands of species are becoming extinct and our own existence as the human race is in doubt. But, however, nonetheless, we shouldn't let that move us into a constant state of hate.
Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength is the greatest commandment, and the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. All the laws and prophets are summed up in this, to treat others as you want to be treated. We need to continue upon the path to be a Just Peace church. We should strive for justice for all, AND we need to bring the peace of God, the peace of Christ into all we do, so we may not hold these sins against them. In following Christ, we can find the road, the truth, and the life. Amen.
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