Stones And Rock

"Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.  As they were stoning Stephen, he called out "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Today is the Feast of Saint Stephen, the first martyr.  Our reading (Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59) speaks of stoning and Stephen’s death.  Our Gospel (Matthew 10:17-22) speaks of hate: “Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

Hate can lead to stoning – verbally or with stones themselves representing spiritual and physical violence against others.   “Stick and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is a common expression.  Hardly, words can be lethal and are tools of destruction.

This day after Christmas we commit to being at the right hand of God by following the Father and the Son, refusing to hate, and enduring to the end, meaning despite hard words that may be said against us, we will not yield to liars, hypocrites, and those who hurl insults.   We are the ones who will rise up against injustice, bigotry, racism and all other evil in its many forms.

As sung in our Responsorial Psalm: “Lord, be our rock of refuge, a stronghold to give us safety. You are our rock and fortress; for your name's sake you will lead and guide us.”   We pray for our rock to help fend off the stone-throwers.

Deacon David Pierce