All we know of Stephen is found in Acts of the Apostles, 6-7. It is enough to tell us what kind of

man he was. At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists (Greek-speaking

Christians) complained against the Hebrews (Hebrew-speaking Christians) because their widows

were being neglected in the daily distribution.

So the twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit and six others. Stephen did great wonders and signs among the people. Apparently he also liked to engage his fellow Jews in public disputation over the life and teachings of Christ, and for this he was

denounced before the Jewish Sanhedrin.

As the story is recounted in Acts, Stephen was interrogated before the high priest. Responding to the charge of blasphemy, he delivered a long sermon chronicling the history of God’s covenant with his servants Abraham and Moses before rising to a shocking rhetorical climax. In a bold charge, he turned the accusations against the Jewish leaders themselves:

You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As

your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they

killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now

betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.

His audience responded with predictable outrage.

Stephen was driven from the city and stoned to death. But he did not die before receiving a vision of the open heavens with “Jesus standing at the right hand of God,” and before praying for the forgiveness of his murderers.

The death of Stephen marked a new foundation for the early church. Jesus’ proclamation of the reign of God had given way to the proclamation of Jesus himself. But the continuity was underlined to the fact that the disciple met the same fate as his Master. Dying, like Jesus, with words of forgiveness on his lips, the martyr was vouchsafed a vision of Christ in his glory, a pledge of the reward that awaits all who remain faithful to the end. Stephen is the patron saint of deacons. Like him, may we learn to forgive our persecutors and pray, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

- Source: All Saints by Robert Ellsberg