Readings: Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a, 51-60 | 1 Peter 2:2-10 | John 14:1-14
Text: John 14:1-14
When Stephen found himself compelled to preach to the stiff-necked Jews and became the object of their wrath.
Stephen’s ministry was short and sweet. What does it look like when the Christian is compelled to confess the truth of God’s Word against the desires of the flesh and the priorities of the world? (They speak from the world, and the world listens to them, 1 John 4:5)
There are deceits around which challenge God’s stated purpose for our lives. Whether it’s to live in the purity of marriage, or our constant need to hear and keep His Word and not be carried along by deceitful philosophies, or how He forbids us to look to worldly security for hope. But when we admit that we have done what is contrary to our Creator’s will and confess that we have lived contrary to the Word of God, there’s a choice in reaction.
The choice that confirms unbelief is the one that attacks the prophet of God, as they did with Stephen. They answered the pangs of conscience by pushing away and killing the one they opposed because he had exposed their guilt.
The other outcome is not digging one’s heels in. It is not opposing and disagreeing at every turn, believing that you are entitled to be immune from judgment. It is hearing this call for all people to repent, which is displayed by the crowds to which the Apostle Peter preached:
36Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:36-39)
This is the outcome which is God’s good purpose and leads to life. This is the promise which Jesus sets before the disciples in the Upper Room. “Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” That belief doesn’t mean that their life will be free of trouble. In fact, in some cases, it might bring them more trouble than they ever had before!
“Let not your hearts be troubled,” the Lord says. Do not let them be troubled as if the devil has won and destruction is inevitable. Jesus’ death and resurrection proves that false.
Do not let your hearts be troubled because of your sinful flesh. It may seem a powerful adversary, and your fortitude can waver. But Christ has taken your place, borne the eternal consequences of your sins, received you in the saving waters of Baptism, and gives you His Holy Spirit who “keeps you from doing what you want to do” (Galatians 5:17).
Do not let your hearts be troubled by the mighty you see in the present world. They have their time, which will pass away. The Word of the Lord, and His Holy Church which clings to it, endures forever [1 Peter 1:23-25]. The murders of St. Stephen passed away. The Roman Caesars passed away. Even the Leninist Communists who oppressed the Church in eastern Europe and Russia passed away. Those who now torment Christians for not affirming human beings—made in the image of God—in their destructive sin will also pass away.
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.” So often, we read this as an exclusive statement. It is, except that it’s not a boast on our part. I know the way, and others don’t. There is the way to the Father, and it doesn’t look like getting what you want; it’s a life of denial of self. To know “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” will mean alienation in this world. It is the Way of the Cross which goes down to death but leads to eternal life and the new creation. It is the Truth in a dark world, filled with lies that people believe. It is the Life amid so much death and dying.
And death, we know well. It strikes when we least expect it. It also doesn’t come for years, when we wish that it would, in the case of long, drawn-out illness. Jesus is the Lord who has conquered death and made it something else.
He takes death, and all its wretchedness, and makes it blessed:
15“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.” (Psalm 116:15–16)
12“Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. 13And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”” (Revelation 14:12–13)
Death itself is not blessed, but His saints are, because through it, He answers their prayer, “Deliver us from evil. Amen.” (Lord’s Prayer). And we believe this, not because we want to wish death away, but because Jesus has risen from the dead.
Maryann fell asleep on a very special day, Good Friday. It was the day on which her Lord triumphantly said, “It is finished” and gave up His spirit [John 19:30]. The Lamb of God was slain, who took all her sins onto Himself. Even as her mind wasted away, Jesus remembered her. The Holy Spirit kept her in faith, even when her outward appearance became so unlike how we may have remembered her. And on that good day, April 3, the Lord released her from her bonds. He delivered His dear servant to inherit the blessed hope first given her in Baptism.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
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