5th Sunday of Easter

Stephen
 5th Sunday of Easter
1. According to the Book of Acts, one of the first decision the Apostles reached was
to create Deacons: the selected 7 men of impeccable reputation to take over the
responsibility of distributing to the poor the resources of the church.
Last weeks reading from Acts explained that the early disciples decided to sell all their
possessions and use the money to support the poor, widows and orphans.
Human nature being what it is, there were complaints of favoritism: the Gentile Christians felt
that charity was slanted in favor of Jewish Christians. So the Apostles decided to
disassociate themselves from these matters and appointed the Deacons to take over the
distribution of charity and to help them preach the Gospel.
The word deacon in Greek word means servant, messenger, minister. One of these seven
deacons was a man named Stephen. He was so successful in his charitable work and in his
preaching that he became a lightning rod for the Pharisees.
They accused him of blasphemy, Just as Jesus had been accused of blasphemy. He was
brought to trial in front of the Sanhedrin (ruling council) and there he gave a fiery speech in
which he summarized the whole history of Israel, demonstrating that Jesus had not subverted
the teachings of the Bible, but had fulfilled them. Then he told his own accusers that, just
like their ancestors, they were guilty of persecuting the prophets and opposing the action of
the Holy Spirit.
Needless to say, this speech did not win him any friends: he was condemned to die and was
stoned to death.
In the book of Acts, the account of Stephens execution ends with a note indicating that a
young man named Saul was present at the execution. He was too young to take part in the
stoning, so he guarded the coats of the men who killed Stephen.
Young Saul grew up to be a Pharisee and a sworn enemy of the first Christians. But God had
a plan for him: he would convert and became an Apostle and change his name to Paul.
 5th Sunday of Easter
2. Stephen was the first follower of Jesus to give his life for his faith. Eventually all the
Apostles and many other disciples would be martyred for their faith in Jesus.
Martyrdom is not a common event in our society. All Western countries have laws that protect
freedom of religion. Yet, there are still places around the world, such as the Middle East, where it is
dangerous to be a Christian.
More often than not, the Christians who today give their life for their faith are not killed because they
believe in Jesus. Usually they are killed because like Stephen they protect the poor and the
defenseless against those who exploit them and deny them the most basic rights. It is risky to love
your neighbors as yourself.
3. The order of Diaconate has continued since the beginning of the Church and at St. James
we are blessed to have Karen as our Deacon.
When she first started here, we agreed that Karen would focus on certain areas, like music and the
women group. She has done that, and she has also quietly stepped into other areas of need.
One area in which she has become very effective is the original mission of the diaconate: working with
needy people who ask the church for help.
When people come to me and ask for money, I feed bad about their situation and give them what I
can. I dont know if their stories are true or not. I leave that up to God. But does that really help
them? Does that really solve their problems? I dont know.
Karen has taken a much more proactive approach to helping those who ask for money. She finds out
who their social worker is, contacts them, becomes an advocate for them, helps them find the right
agencies, finds out what these peoples really need, rather than what they want or ask for.
She has experience dealing with people who are affected by substance abuse. She can be very tough
with them and makes sure they dont abuse of charity to feed their drug or alcohol dependency.
We have a duty to help the needy, but we also have a duty to be vigilant and to be good stewards of
the limited resources we have. That is the same duty the early church had. It is not an easy task to
balance the two responsibilities, and that is why the Apostles created the order of Deacons.
I am learning a lot from Karen, and I am grateful that she has embraced this ministry. I hope you will
also appreciate how blessed we are to have her here at St. James.
 5 Sunday of Easter
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4. Let us go back to Saul, the young man who was not old enough to participate in the
stoning of Stephen. Only adults were allowed to participate in executions.
In last Sundays Gospel, Jesus labeled the Pharisee thieves and bandits. Young Saul became a fanatic
Pharisee, and, a few years after Stephens execution, Saul was charged by the leadership of the Jews to
go to Damascus to round up Christians and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem to be tried.
However, on his way to Damascus, Saul was thrown from his horse and temporarily blinded by a flash of
lightning. Jesus appeared to him, and he was converted. He was told to go to Ananias to learn about
Christianity. He was baptized, changed his name to Paul and became a leader of the Church.
The tragic story of Stephens martyrdom has in it the seed of redemption. God had a plan that included
even the young fanatic Pharisee-in-training called Saul of Tarsus.
God would use Pauls stubborn energy, his drive, and his dedication to spread the Gospel. Paul hustled
more than anyone else to start new Churches. He was also the brightest and best educated of the
Apostles and his letters are the foundations of Christian doctrine .
5. Paul was not chosen to be an Apostle because he deserved to be an Apostle. He was out
to kill all Christians. Paul became an Apostle because God loved him and called him in
spite of his shortcomings.
The most amazing thing about God is that God is love. God sees in each of us possibilities that we
cannot see in ourselves. God has chosen each of us, called us to be here and to become the building
blocks of this church.
This speaks to the possibility of redemption in each of us. It doesnt matter how many issues or
shortcomings we have, how bad or how annoying we may be. God has a plan for us.
Remember that God did not select the best and the brightest to bring Christianity to all nations. The
Apostles were not by the most capable nor the most worthy people in the world. The Church was built by
average people who were called by God, accepted Gods invitation, and cooperated with God.
We are here not because we deserve to be here, but because God has chosen us, and we will be
successful only to the extent that we let God work through us, and become instruments of God.
God accepts us as we are and loves us as we are, warts and all. Let us allow God to use us as he used
Stephen and Paul.