April 28

Today’s Readings: ACTS 7:51-8:1 PS 31:3-4, 6-8, 17, 21 JN 6:30-35

I’ll never forget my time as a parish youth director in Newport Beach, California. Some of the most financially successful people in our country sent their teenagers to my youth ministry program. Some would set appointments, “clothed in humility,” asking for counsel. Others fought everything I tried to teach their children. They didn’t want me to help their kids discover what God had created them to be. They had no need for their children to pursue sainthood. They only wanted their church to aid in molding their children into respectable members of society who would go to a great college, but would never end up in a police report.

We had some…come-to-Jesus moments.

Yesterday, I mentioned we begin this week with a trilogy of First Readings focusing on St. Stephen. Today is part two. It is the day Stephen goes right at the elders and the scribes. He knows they hold his earthly life in their hands, but refuses to hold back.

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”

As you might expect, they did not react kindly to these truths. In fact, they stoned him to death. What a tragedy! Except, it wasn’t.

“But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.””

And what were St. Stephen’s final words?

““Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them””

Thus, St. Stephen became the first martyr of the Church.

Let us never fear speaking truth to authority, provided we are speaking with-the proper discernment-the authority of Jesus Christ  

David is the Director of Faith Formation at Our Lady of Joy.

If you have comments or questions, send your emails to dlins@oloj.org. 

As we have lost our weekly collection income, we can only maintain our current staff for a limited time without your help. Please spread the word and sign up for auto-pay or make whatever donation you can at https://www.ezekielgiving.com/App/Giving/oloj