Monday, December 26, 2022

Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr

(Acts 6:8-10.7:54-59; Matthew10:17-22)

Celebrating Christmas, we walk in the light of Christ.  Today’s Feast of St. Stephen reminds us that those who walk in light are bound to cast shadows.  In these shadows lurk evil spirits who would kill before being exposed to the light, especially the brilliant light of Christ.

The reading from Acts relates Stephen’s martyrdom but skips over his speech which provoked the wrath of his assassins.  In that discourse Stephen revisits the sins of Israel from the selling of Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, to the crucifixion of Christ.  The people who hear Stephen, not wanting to be enlightened about the sins of their ancestors and even less of their own sins, stone Stephen.  He dies begging forgiveness for his persecutors.

In proclaiming the whole truth of Jesus, we will find opposition.  Those who oppose us will not kill us, but they may criticize us unjustly.  Because we follow Christ, we are to respond to the criticisms like St. Stephen.  That is, we are not to condemn but to pray for our persecutors.

Monday, January 2, 2022

Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and Doctors of the Church

(I John 2:22-28; John 1:19-280

The Church celebrates the Incarnation -- Christ becoming human – on Christmas.  It is, despite Santa Claus and snowmen, a holy and glorious day.  But there is little time to reflect on how the Incarnation might happen during Christmas week.  On January 2, the day following the Christmas octave, such reflection is indicated with the Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen.

The two bishops and theologians were best of friends when they studied together in Athens.  They lived during the fourth century when people literally fought over different interpretations of the Incarnation.  Basil defended the Church’s Nicene teaching against Arianism, a widespread and deeply rooted heresy.  To protect divine majesty, Arianism claimed that Jesus was not fully God.  Gregory engaged in the controversy against the more sophisticated heresy of Apollinarianism.  Apollinaris, the bishop who formulated the heresy, taught that Jesus was a divine spirit inhabiting a foreign body.  Gregory claimed the contrary when he taught that “what is not assumed is not redeemed.”  In other words, if the Son did not have a human body, no human body can be redeemed.

We believe that Jesus is our redeemer because of the testimony of writers like John in today’s first reading.  He tells us of how people experienced Jesus’ saving power.  We also accept the Church’s teaching on the Incarnation because it follows quite logically from the teachings of thinkers like Basil and Gregory.