But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:57-60 (RSVCE)
A simple question requiring a profound response: “Can you do as St Stephen did”?
Chances are, you will never have to face this scenario or respond with the grace and humility as St. Stephen did. Unfortunately, there are a number of our Christian brothers and sister who face this reality every single day of their lives. Many respond as St. Stephen did. St. Stephen set the high mark for all future Martyrs, him being the first to willingly die for what he believed in.
Many of us here in the Western world are not called to such martyrdom, but that does not mean that we should not be willing to do as St. Stephen experienced. I propose that as Christians, we should be open to this sacrifice everyday of our lives. Does this mean the end result will be death? No, it does not, but that is not our choice. What we need to do daily is to willingly place our Lord our God first in our lives and stand up for what we believe in. Let the consequences fall where they may.
I do not believe St. Stephen set out to die. He set out to evangelize – to live the Word of God, knowing the risks he faced in doing so. He willingly accepted those risks because he placed the Word of God above his own life. God is not asking us to go and seek death, he is asking us to live the Word of God. Living the Word of God does assume the risk of death. “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 (RSVCE)
So how can we be willing martyrs every day? By living the Word of God every day. Unless we chose to live the Word of God daily and assume the risk and the consequences of living the Word of God daily, we have chosen to lose our life.
Do not shy away from living the Word of God. Whether we are work, at rest or at play, we must live the Word of God every day. We cannot leave our beliefs at the factory or office door. They must enter with us. If we are challenged to live our beliefs, then we must accept those challenges even to the ultimate sacrifice. Of course we will be ostracized, mocked, jeered, attacked, bullied and threatened. We must not give up an inch during these attacks but stand our ground. Even at the cost of our reputation in the community? Yes! Even at the cost of our jobs? Yes! Even at the cost of our lives? Yes…humbly and triumphantly!
You see, those that attack us are banking on us to succumb to our fears. Would you rather live as a slave to the attacker, continuously appeasing their every whim while giving up more and more of your life or would you rather live as a soldier of Christ? I argue that if one choses to live by constantly appeasing the attackers, then YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD – a walking dead – a living death. What a horrible way to live! As for me, I choose to live the Word of God at the risk of my life!
I do not set out to die…I set out to live the true life in Christ our Lord our God. Be an example for your fellow Christians. Be a willing seed for your Church and for your God!
Copyright 2015, Luciano Corbo
Luciano Corbo
Luciano Corbo holds a Master of Arts - Integrated Studies from Athabasca University. His major interests are Culture, Work, Organizations and Leadership, within a context of Catholic Social Teaching Principles. He writes from Canada.
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