Easter 5: First Reading, Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a, 51-60

Do you have “friends” in the Bible? Do you have those with whom you relate because you see yourself in them or them in you? Or … or do you have those whose lives which you aspire to emulate? Those can be fine friends as well. This week’s first reading highlights one of my friends. His name is Stephen. We do not get the full tank on Stephen in this reading, but we do get enough that I can say for me, “What he has I want. I want to be like him when I grow up.”

Stephen is a waiter. Yep. He is called on to wait tables and from what little you can gather in chapter 6 of Acts, he does it willingly. He could have been doing a number of other activities. From what we learn about his grasp of Israel’s history just a few verses later, we can assume Stephen may have been a top-notch teacher, but no. He’s a waiter. Called upon to make sure the Greek widows weren’t being left out of receiving care, Stephen is put forth among others in the young church as fit for service. And do you know what marked out Stephen for serving widows? He was “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (6:5). Yikes! Full of faith and the Holy Spirit seems like “Red Sea” qualifications or perhaps even taking a crack at walking on water. But serving widows in the daily distribution of food? Anyone can do that.

 

You’re right if you think that. But not everyone can or would do that task to the glory of God. And this is where my friend Stephen is different. A bit later in the Stephen Saga, we see him thundering away at those who, in their arrogance and ignorance, crucified the only hope national Israel had (or has). In chapter 7, Stephen glorifies his Master with some mighty fine preaching. And instead of a nice stipend, Stephen gets paid with some rather challenging currency: Rocks! When the crowd to whom Stephen was preaching had had enough they ground their teeth at him but Stephen, “full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (7:55). Now that’s a payday.

My friend Stephen goes on to give his life as a martyr, a witness. That’s what the word martyr means, after all. Stones pelting him from every direction, he feels the ire of every one hurling a stone. And Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, dies like his Master, crying for heaven to receive his spirit while forgiving his killers. I love my friend Stephen. I can hardly wait to meet him. Hope you’ll come along.