The Fourth Sunday of Easter

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The Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 17, 2005
Acts 6:1-9, 7:2a, 51-60, I Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT

This winter and spring I had some extra time for reading while recuperating and so set about reading Tolkien's The Lord of the Ring trilogy. My plan was to read the three books and then watch the extended movies, again, and note the changes that Peter Jackson, the director, made between the books and the movies. I finished the last book and all three movies last week.

Now you are wondering why on this “Good Shepherd Sunday” when the entire church catholic is hearing sermons about sheep and Jesus you are getting hobbits. A fair question. Because of stories and story telling. I became fascinated with the liberties Peter Jackson took in the movies to move the storyline in a particular way, to emphasis a particular character, etc. For me this is an important piece of understanding our reading from Acts, the story of our patron, Stephen, first martyr of the church.

Stephen is a relatively minor character yet Luke gives him the longest single discourse in the Book of Acts, which makes it one of the longest in the New Testament. (It is all the part cut out from our reading today.)

First some background: there are tensions in the new community between Greek and Aramaic speaking members. (Even then, “us v. them.”) The apostles sidestep the issue - like clever bishops - and choose seven men (all with Greek names) to administer the needs of the community. We keep calling these seven “deacons” for their service. Actually they may have been more like administrators. Furthermore, of the two we know anything about, Stephen and Phillip, both are more preachers and prophets than servers or administrators. I feel it is helpful for us here especially to think of our patron less as a deacon serving at table than as a powerful preacher and evangelist of the faith who did mighty “signs and wonders.” That is what he lived and that is why he died.

We learn Stephen’s story here. Later Luke recounts Phillip’s journey to Samaria and his conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch. Stephen’s story is Luke’s particularly crafted and edited version of this young man. Stephen is caste very carefully almost as an echo of Jesus, proclaiming the Good News and paying for it with his life. With Stephen’s death the story of the new faith moves out of Jerusalem never to return except in glimpses. Stephen, as a Greek speaking Jewish Christian, becomes a hinge person between Jesus and Paul in moving the Gospel story into a non-Jewish setting, into the gentile world.

As we read the story and Stephen’s speech, it is Luke we are hearing. Stephen’s speech is, as a whole, the key Luke provides for the understanding of his entire two-volume work of Luke-Acts. Luke takes his reading of Torah in Stephen’s speech and seeks to legitimize the message of the new faith by careful crafting and editing of the original stories to meet his own theological and narrative needs. Luke is very much an early Christian apologist, re-telling a familiar story in a way that others will hear and believe. He takes the familiar stories and shapes them to his ends, creating a distinctive rendition. (Not unlike Peter Jackson.)

Part of what Luke does is to carefully craft Stephen to add credence to his theological agenda. All we know of Stephen is a creation of Luke. In the speech narrative Luke notes that Stephen had the “face of an angel.” He can now be seen as a handsome young man, which makes his death seem all the more poignant. It may also recall to his audience the transfiguration of Jesus. It also serves to condemn those hearing Stephen as he tells them of Jesus, “…now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.” (Acts 7:52-53)

Luke clothes Stephen with Christ-like attributes in his death. “As did Jesus, so does Stephen have grace and power, and works wonders and signs among the people; he enters into dispute with those who challenge him, including those who are sent as spies. He is arrested and brought to trial before the Sanhedrin. Stephen is taken out of the city to be executed as was Jesus. At his death, there is the disposition of clothing, though not of his own as it was for Jesus. Stephen prays that his spirit be accepted as did Jesus. Stephen asks forgiveness for his murderers as did Jesus. Stephen is buried by pious people as we Jesus.” At the end, Stephen even sees Jesus in the glory of God. (Sacra Pagina, Acts, pg.142)

The story of Stephen becomes a reminder of the story of Jesus with the clear understanding that God is working through this young man and through his community to bring the Good News to the people. Stephen becomes the first Christian killed for his faith. Soon to follow is James the brother of John, the first apostle to be martyred. In the midst of signs and wonders the faithful are reminded that the world will not always be friendly and welcoming to their message. There are crosses to be borne by many of the faithful. Men and women will arise who will make the ultimate witness for the faith. Stephen has been the spiritual forerunner of martyrs from the day of his death up to martyrs today.

I leave you Stephen our patron, not as a deacon who serves at table. Rather as a powerful preacher, evangelist, and one who cared deeply for his community and did many “signs and wonders” for the people. That is what he lived and that is why he died. May he be an icon of faith and courage for all of us in our own ministries.