Inspiration for your journey to God!

Category: Lectio (Page 14 of 32)

Like the face of an angel!

and his face was like the face of an angel

St. Stephen

His face was like the face of an angel!  This is the last sentence we read in Acts 6:8-15:

Stephen, filled with grace and power was working great wonders and signs among the people.  Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Celicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.  Then they instigated some men to say, “we have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”  They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin.  They presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law:  For we have heard him claim that this Jesus, the Nazarean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”  All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

So many things struck me about this reading. First was the POWER, GRACE and WISDOM Stephen possessed through his openness to the Holy Spirit.  Second was the pride, anger, envy, jealousy, fear and ego of those who opposed him.  Good versus evil, if you will.  I recognized through this reading that these negative feelings led to Stephen’s death and they can lead to our spiritual death if we allow them to take hold.  I also realized that while we may not experience persecution as Stephen did we do experience, what I’d like to call, mini persecutions on a daily basis.

Let’s unwrap this verse.  First, we see Stephen, who is a righteous man speaking Truth and making Jesus known in his community.  The “members of the Synagogue” who understood themselves to be the authority on “the law” were intimidated by Stephen’s power, grace and wisdom.  We are told that they couldn’t withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.  Basically, they couldn’t compete with him.  He was too knowledgeable and, I would guess, on fire with the peace and love of Christ.

I’m going to assume Stephen’s wisdom and Spirit was a blow to their egos.  They were too proud to acknowledge the Truth of what he spoke.  The “members” feared conversion and change.  They didn’t want anyone to upset their apple cart.  Their anger served to divert attention from this holy and righteous man of wisdom.  The envy and jealousy of the knowledge and peace Stephen possessed led them to break the commandments God imposed through Moses.  They seem so concerned about maintaining what Moses had handed down, yet they broke several commandments in the process.  How committed were they?  Committed to vices, maybe.  Committed to God, not so much!

There’s a clue in the reading that leads me to believe that the Sanhedrin knew Stephen wasn’t a real threat to them and that he was not blaspheming.  It’s the last sentence “…..looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”  There was that light we so often hear about.  The light we are supposed to be in this world.  Stephen was that light for his time.  He offered God the sacrifice of praise we hear about in the Psalms.  His praise of Jesus was indeed a sacrifice because it lead to his persecution.

I’m guessing the sight of Stephen’s face made the Sanhedrin’s intuition perk up.  Despite the charges against Stephen, at that moment the Sanhedrin must have realized that what they were taking part in was a farce.  It was all wrong and based on lies.   How could they NOT be moved by the face  of an angel?  They were making a huge mistake but they couldn’t turn back for fear….

Isn’t that what happens to us?  When we engage in gossip, we know it’s wrong but still engage.  Isn’t that what happens to us when pride hold us back from admitting we’re wrong?  We convince ourselves that we can just ignore the situation and it will go away.  Isn’t it so easy to allow our anger to lead us to desire revenge?  We contemplate ways of getting back at someone for hurting or disappointing us.  How about our commitment to relationships?  Do we find it easy to walk away instead of attempting to rebuild?

You make think these things are no big deal but look what happened in Jesus’ time when these vices/feelings were left unchecked.   It’s so important to take stock of what triggers our behaviors and feelings.  To really understand what causes us to react and why.  I believe it’s the first step toward healing our sinful souls. Think about the last time you were angry?  What triggered it? I would venture to guess it was fear. If we’re not careful, we can become completely irrational in our thinking.  Irrationality often leads to more sin.   As a result, we become the persecutors.  We are then no better than the Sanhedrin.

On the flip side, have you ever experienced a relationship where it seemed liked someone was constantly in competition with you.  Did you ever feel like someone was working extra hard to outdo you?  Have you ever felt left out of a group because you refuse to compromise your values and morals or because you’re not interested in participating in what society pegs as “fun” or “the norm?”  Do you ever get the sense that people make judgments about you without even knowing who you really are?  I’m sure we all have.  We have either been on the giving or receiving end of all this. In a sense, these are all persecutions, are they not?

Those who persecuted Stephen let their egos get the best of them.  When they couldn’t compete with his Spirit, they worked extra hard to kill it.  They became so irrational that they disregarded and broke all the rules and laws they claimed they were working so hard to protect.  Think about that – who do you identify with?  I think we all have a bit of persecutor and persecuted in us.  Unfortunately, I can identify with both.  So I have some work to do, do you?

Oftentimes, we can feel sad or lonely as a result of experiencing those “mini-persecutions” I mentioned.  In those moments, we should think of Stephen and how he was able to reflect the face of an angel despite the persecution.  God bless you!

(In my next post I hope to continue this theme and discuss what the Apostles experienced after the resurrection based on my viewing of the series AD on Easter Sunday. If you haven’t seen it, check it out on Netflix.com)

At the Last Supper

Holy Thursday

The Last Supper

Today is Holy Thursday – a day we commemorate the Last Supper.  Just a few days ago, during the liturgy,  we heard the Gospel of John 13:21-33, 36-38.  It reads:

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”  The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.  One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side.  So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.  He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”  So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot.  After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.   So Jesus said to him, “what you are going to do, do quickly.”  Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.  Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor.   So Judas took the morsel and left at once.  And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.  If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once.  My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.  You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”  Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.”  Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now?  I will lay down my life for you.”  Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?  Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

At first glance, the words “satan entered him” jumped out at me.  I don’t know about you, but when I think of Judas Iscariot and his betrayal of Jesus, I simply think of him as an ungrateful, greedy, evil man.  Obviously, anything evil comes from the evil one, but those words serve to magnify the exact moment of Judas’ “conversion.”  Just a few passages before, we hear of Judas getting upset when Mary used expensive performed oil to anoint Jesus’ feet.  He argued that she could have sold it for 300 days wages and given the money to the poor.  Was he for real?  Would he have given the money to the poor?  His greed was obvious.  Money was his business.

I don’t believe Judas was created for the role of betrayer.  He was one of the 12 for goodness sake!   The REAL Judas, the Judas God intended would never have desired nor been able to betray Jesus.  Yet Satan was able to enter him.  How?  He let down his guard.  His greed crept in and temptation weakened his defenses.  He lost his focus on what was really important!  A lesson to all of us to STAY  AWAKE!

Betrayal is not the only theme of this Gospel. It seems that denial is as well.   Notice how all the Apostles reacted when Jesus said one of them would betray him.  No one thought they were capable.  They all went on the defensive.  No one wanted to admit that they might be capable of betraying Jesus.  Did they think they were perfect?  As much credit as we might want to give the first disciples of Christ, I often think they were just like us.  They were in denial of their flaws and brokenness.  Like us they struggled with reconciling their humanity with their holiness.

Peter claims he’ll lay down his life for Jesus and yet, when the going gets tough, he denies Jesus three times.  Think of the disappointment Jesus must have felt over the betrayal and denial.  Disappointed, yes.  As a matter of fact, the Gospel says he was troubled but never once do we hear that he was angry or begrudging.

As we approach Holy Thursday and continue through the Triduum to Easter, let us follow Christ on the road to Calvary.   Let’s make it a time of complete surrender and mercy.  Think of people in your life – the Judas’ and the Peters; look in the mirror and contemplate how you might be a present day Judas or Peter; think of the “places” in your life that make you feel agony similar to that felt by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  In all these things, pray for the strength and courage to accept God’s will as Jesus did – no matter what comes.  Pray for the compassion and mercy to forgive as Jesus forgave just before he died on the cross.  Lastly, look forward to a new life in Christ as you enter into the Spring season and receive the message of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday!

Happy Easter!  God bless you!
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