Reflection for December 26
Although I was named after St. Stephen, I wasn’t really taught, nor did I know much about his story until later in life. I particularly appreciated Sister Maryann’s reflection theorizing that the placement of the Feast of Stephen, commemorating his martyrdom, a mere day after Christmas is a reminder to us of the serious mission of Christ yet to come and that we shouldn’t “linger in Bethlehem” (a good reminder for me, as my decorations sometimes linger into February).
However, the emphasis on self-sacrifice is something I’ve always struggled with in Catholicism. Growing up, I remember hearing more than once the sermon about gun-wielding terrorists storming into a church and asking everyone who really believed in Christ to follow them outside. A handful of parishioners followed them out while those who remained heard gunshots outside. The terrorists returned and brought the rest of the parishioners outside to find those who had gone out were still alive. The terrorists then told the parishioners who remained not to reenter the church until their faith was as strong as those who went outside. How dark! How troubling! How intimidating!
Later in life, as an admirer of philosopher Ayn Rand, I remember feeling a sort of relief when her intellectual heir was asked, “If she were put on television at gunpoint and had to glorify communism (which she, a survivor of Soviet Russia, vehemently opposed), would she?” And he said, “Of course she would! Because her words wouldn’t mean anything! Morality ends where the gun begins.” However, she also wasn’t religious and so believed your life was all you had, so you better hang onto it as strongly as you can -- though one certainly doesn’t have to be an atheist to sympathize with that feeling (...but all that just complicates things further, doesn’t it?) But then I thought, don’t I admire the Founding Fathers, who signed the Declaration knowing full well they could be hanged for treason? Didn’t I admire my grandfather fighting in WWII, standing up to evil, promoting what was good, and risking his life to do so?
But then I realized...I’m focused on the wrong thing. What we celebrate on the Feast of Stephen and all Christian holidays should be first and foremost Christ’s message of LOVE and HOPE that Stephen stood up for and spoke of -- not the evil murder due to the barbarity of those around him and the time in which he lived. I’ll never forget my niece, when she was about 7 years old, coming home from her first day of catechism; when my father asked her how it went, she smiled and said: “Good! It’s all about love.”
On this Feast of Stephen, I hope we focus on the right thing and celebrate not St. Stephen’s death, but his life...a life dedicated to promoting what “it’s all about”: Christ’s message of love and hope for us all.
Stephen Petit