Tuesday, December 26, 2017 Stephen, First Martyr 1st Reading: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 Gospel: Mt 10:17-22
Jesus said to his disciples, “Be on your guard with respect to people, for they will hand you over to their courts and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of me, and so you may witness to them and the pagans.
“But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say and how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it is not you who will speak; but it will be the Spirit of your Father in you.
“Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
St. Stephen’s feast may be off tangent in this Christmas season of merriment. Yet it reminds us of the kind of demands this baby Jesus could make as a grown up. He will demand love of neighbor, forgiveness for enemies, denial of self, and going the extra mile. Many Christmas smiles will give way to pouted lips at the hearing of these demands. Only those willing to shed blood will move from Bethlehem to Calvary.
God took us seriously when he decided to become like us to redeem us. To be fair we must also take God seriously by allowing Christmas to prepare us for the Lenten challenge. Only then will we receive the Easter grace. Some people prefer to linger at Christmas longer than necessary because their subconscious has a natural aversion for Calvary. But stagnation at Christmas is missing the bus. Jesus does not remain an infant forever. When we linger at Christmas too long we adore an empty manger at a time when we are supposed to be already celebrating resurrection outside the empty tomb.
The concept comes closer to home when we talk about how long Cebu celebrates Christmas ritually. By celebrating Misa de Gallo, Cebu anticipates Christmas starting December 16. By celebrating Sinulog it stretches the yuletide season up to mid January. A sea of humanity flows down city streets following the image of the Holy Child in procession. But step on the toes of these devotees, and you’ll see how far the faith of some takes them to. The body is busy dancing the Sinulog but the soul is at a standstill. This is spiritual stagnation at its worst.
St. Stephen’s feast, after all, is not off tangent at Christmas. If Christmas is a celebration of love because it is all about God loving us first to the maximum, St. Stephen’s story best illustrates how far we can respond to that love. — (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM.
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