From: Acts 7:55-60
The Martyrdom of Stephen
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Commentary:
55-56. “It is clear”, St. Ephraem comments, “that those who suffer for Christ en-
joy the glory of the whole Trinity. Stephen saw the Father and Jesus at His side,
because Jesus appears only to his own, as was the case with the Apostles after
the Resurrection. While the champion of the faith stood there helpless in the
midst of those who had killed the Lord, just at the point when the first martyr was
to be crowned, he saw the Lord, holding a crown in His right hand, as if to encou-
rage him to conquer death and to show that he inwardly helps those who are a-
bout to die on his account. He therefore reveals what he sees, that is, the hea-
vens opened, which were closed to Adam and only opened to Christ at the Jor-
dan, but open now after the Cross to all who share Christ’s sufferings, and in the
first instance open to this man. See how Stephen reveals why his face was lit
up: it was because he was on the point of contemplating this wondrous mission.
That is why he took on the appearance of an angel—so that his testimony might
be more reliable” (”Armenian Commentary, ad loc.”).
57-59. The cursory trial of Stephen ends without any formal sentence of death:
this Jewish tribunal was unable to pass such sentences because the Romans
restricted its competence. In any event no sentence proves necessary: the
crowd becomes a lynching party: it takes over and proceeds to stone Stephen,
with the tacit approval of the Sanhedrin.
Tradition regards Stephen as the first Christian martyr, an example of fortitude
and suffering for love of Christ. “Could you keep all God’s commandments,” St.
Cyprian asks, “were it not for the strength of patience? That was what enabled
Stephen to hold out: in spite of being stoned he did not call down vengeance
on his executioners, but rather forgiveness.... How fitting it was for him to be
Christ’s first martyr, so that by being, through his glorious death, the model of
all the martyrs that would come after him, he should not only be a preacher of
the Lord’s Passion, but should also imitate it in his meekness and immense
patience” (”De Bono Patientiae”, 16).
Martyrdom is a supreme act of bravery and of true prudence, but to the world
it makes no sense. It is also an expression of humility, because a martyr does
not act out of bravado or overweening self-confidence; he is a weak man like any-
one else, but God’s grace gives him the strength he needs. Although martyrdom
is something which happens rarely, it does show Christians what human nature
can rise to if God gives it strength, and it establishes a standard, both real and
symbolic, for the behavior of every disciple of Christ.
“Since all the virtues and the perfection of all righteousness are born of love of
God and one’s neighbor,” St. Leo says, “in no one is this love more worthily
found than in the blessed martyrs, who are nearest to our Lord in terms of imi-
tation of both His charity and His Passion.
“The martyrs have been of great help to others, because the Lord has availed
of the very strength as He granted them to ensure that the pain of death and
the cruelty of the Cross do not frighten any of His own, but are seen as things
in which man can imitate Him....
“No example is more useful for the instruction of the people of God than that of
the martyrs. Eloquence is effective for entreating, argument for convincing; but
examples are worth more than words, and it is better to teach by deeds than by
speech” (”Hom. on the Feast of St. Laurence”).
The Second Vatican Council has reminded us of the excellence of the martyrdom
as a form of witness to the faith. Although there are heroic ways of imitating and
following our Lord which do not involve the drama of bloodshed and death, all
Christians should realize that confession of the faith in this way is not a thing of
the past and is sometimes necessary.
“Since Jesus, the Son of God, showed His love by laying down His life for us, no
one has greater love than he who lays down his life for Him and for his brothers
(cf. 1 John 3:16; John 15:13). Some Christians have been called from the begin-
ning, and will always be called, to give this greatest testimony of love to all, es-
pecially to persecutors. Martyrdom makes the disciple like his Master. [...]
Therefore, the Church considers it the highest gift and supreme test of love. And
although it is given to few, all must be prepared to confess Christ before men
and to follow him along the way of the Cross amidst the persecutions which the
Church never lacks.
“Likewise the Church’s holiness is fostered [...] by the manifold counsels which
the Lord proposes to His disciples in the Gospel” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”,
42).
The Liturgy of the Church sums up the asceticism and theology of martyrdom in
the preface for Christian martyrs: “Your holy martyr followed the example of Christ,
and gave his life for the glory of Your name. His death reveals Your power shining
through our human weakness. You choose the weak and make them strong in
bearing witness to You.”
Like Jesus, Stephen dies commending his soul to God and praying for his perse-
cutors. At this point St. Luke brings in Saul who cooperates in the proceedings
by watching the executioners’ clothes; Saul will soon experience the benefits of
Stephen’s intercession. “If Stephen had not prayed to God, the Church would not
have had Paul” (St. Augustine, “Sermons”, 315, 7).
Stephen has died, but his example and teaching continue to speak across the
world.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20
The Visions Come to an End
[14] Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the
tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
[16] “I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I
am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.”
Prayer of the Spirit and the Bride. Words of Warning and Farewell
[20] He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus!
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Commentary:
10-15. Unlike other revelations (cf. Rev 10:4; Dan 8:26), God makes it plain that
he wants everyone to know the things St John has just written; Christians nee-
ded to be consoled and strengthened in the trials that lay ahead. They must
keep pressing on, for the end is near (v. 11); these words are somewhat ironic,
ridiculing as they do those who are bent on continuing to live a depraved life, un-
willing to admit their sin and unwilling to mend their ways in time. The passage
makes it quite clear that there will be a judgment made by Christ when he comes
again; when he exercises this judicial authority which belongs to God alone, he
appears with divine attributes (cf. note on Rev 1:8). The message contained in
these verses should be reassuring for the Christian. As St Teresa of Avila says,
“May His Majesty be pleased to grant us to experience this before he takes us
from this life, for it will be a great thing at the hour of death to realize that we
shall be judged by One whom we have loved above all things. Once our debts
have been paid we shall be able to walk in safety. We shall not be going into a
foreign land, but into our own country, for it belongs to him whom we have loved
so truly and who himself loves us” (Way of Perfection, 40).
The robes washed in the blood of the Lamb (cf. note on Rev 7:14) are a reference
to the fact that the righteous have been cleansed by having applied to them the
merits of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
16. In a formal, solemn manner Jesus Christ addresses believers and confirms
the genuineness of the prophetic content of the book. This marks the start of the
epilogue, which records the testimony of the Church (v. 17) and the writer (vv. 18-
19) and once again, before the words of farewell, Christ’s own confirmation (v. 20).
The titles applied to Jesus focus on his Hebrew and Davidic ancestry, without
which he could not be the Messiah. Instead of the word “root”, other passages
speak of his being a young, vigorous shoot which grows out of the ancient trunk
of Jesse (cf. Is 11:1). The morning star is another metaphor designating the Mes-
siah (cf. Num 24:17).
17. The Bride is the Church who, in reply to Christ’s promise (cf. 22:12), ardently
desires and prays for his coming. The prayer of the Church is inspired by the Ho-
ly Spirit, the voices of both Church and Spirit fusing in a single cry . Every Chris-
tian is invited to join in this prayer and discover in the Church the gift of the Spirit,
symbolized by the water of life (cf. 21:6); this gift allows the Christian to taste in
anticipation the good things of the Kingdom. The language of this verse reminds
us of the liturgical dimension of the Church with its prayer and celebration of the
sacraments.
20. Christ himself replies to the supplication of the Church and the Spirit: “I am
coming soon.” This idea occurs seven times in the course of the book (cf. 2:16;
3:11; 16:15; 22:7, 12, 17, 20), showing that this is a promise which will certain-
ly be kept. On the basis of this passage, John Paul II makes this exhortation:
“Therefore, let Christ be your sure point of reference, let him be the basis of a
confidence which knows no vacillation. Let the passionate invocation of the
Church, “Come, Lord Jesus!” become the spontaneous sigh of your heart, a
heart never content with the present because it always tends towards the ‘not
yet’ of promised fulfillment” (Homily, 18 May 1980).
This invocation—”Come, Lord Jesus”—was so often on the lips and in the hearts
of the first Christians that it was even expressed in Aramaic, the language which
Jesus and the Apostles spoke: “Marana-tha” (cf. 1 Cor 16:22; Didache, 10, 6).
Today, translated into the vernacular, it is used as an acclamation at Mass, af-
ter the elevation. And so “the earthly liturgy harmonizes with that of heaven. And
now, as in every Mass, there reaches our heart, which is so much in need of con-
solation, that reassuring reply: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I
am coming soon [...].’
“Strengthened by this certainty, let us set out again along the ways of the earth,
feeling greater unity and solidarity with one another, and at the same time bea-
ring in our heart the desire that has become more eager to make known to our
brothers and sisters, still enveloped by the clouds of doubt and depression, the
‘joyful proclamation’ that there has risen over the horizon of their lives ‘the bright
morning star’ (Rev 22:16), the Redeemer of man, Christ the Lord” (John Paul II,
Homily, 18 May 1980).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.