"They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul." (Acts 7:58 )
*****
Christian witness implies certain things. First, a witness is a man who says, "I know this is true."
In a court of law a man cannot give in evidence a carried story; it must be his own personal experience. There was a time when John Bunyan was not quite sure. What worried him was that the Jews thought their religion the best; the Muhammadans thoughts theirs the best. What if Christianity were but a think-so too? A witness does not say, "I think so"; he says, "I know."
Second the real witness is not of words but of deeds. When Stanley had discovered Livingston in Central Africa and had spent some time with him, he said, "If I had been with him any longer, I would have been compelled to be a Christian and he never spoke to me about it at all." The witness of the man’s life was irresistible.
Third, in Greek the word for witness and the word for martyr is the same. A witness had to be ready to become a martyr. To be a witness means to be loyal, no matter the cost. (William Barclay) [1]
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Catholic Church who willingly died for his faith. There is surely some significance in choosing this date to commemorate the saint’s sacrifice of his life coming the day immediately after Christmas.
Surely such feast day placement is meant to bring us the message, that paying homage to the Babe in the manger should definitely move us toward a certain form of martyrdom by way of witnessing for Our Savior. It is to make us understand that following in His footsteps will eventually lead us to death – death to self, to worldly values and to ungodly influences in our lives.
It says somewhere that there is such a thing as martyrdom by doing and not only by dying. As the above commentary tells us "the real witness is not of words but of deeds." It means that we go about our daily responsibilities as faithfully as we can, without uncomplaining or grumbling. It may be in our homes, in our workplaces and/or in our apostolates. In fact this kind of "offering-up of self" is more difficult to do, because it entails both "doing" for God and "dying" to our own person.
As the above article informs us, the word for witness and martyr in Greek means the same thing. When we decide to follow Christ and be a witness for Him we will consequently be expected to make many self-sacrifices in our lives, that will make us voluntary victims for the cause of our Lord and His Church. Our self-renunciations however, should inspire others toward their own spiritual transformation.
The scriptural snippet tells us that while Stephen was being stoned to death, Saul was present and presumably an enthusiastic bystander. It should be remembered that shortly after this event, he was actively in the pursuit of Christians and he was trying to destroy the early Church. Yet, his witness of the first martyr’s murder must somehow have sown a tiny seed of the faith in his heart that prepared him for his eventual conversion. This must have accounted for his 180-degree turn after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus.
With these thoughts in mind, let us make every effort to witness for our Catholic faith with our lives, so that others may benefit from the good examples we provide. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit for the courage and willingness to suffer martyrdom either by doing or by dying at any time.
In a court of law a man cannot give in evidence a carried story; it must be his own personal experience. There was a time when John Bunyan was not quite sure. What worried him was that the Jews thought their religion the best; the Muhammadans thoughts theirs the best. What if Christianity were but a think-so too? A witness does not say, "I think so"; he says, "I know."
Second the real witness is not of words but of deeds. When Stanley had discovered Livingston in Central Africa and had spent some time with him, he said, "If I had been with him any longer, I would have been compelled to be a Christian and he never spoke to me about it at all." The witness of the man’s life was irresistible.
Third, in Greek the word for witness and the word for martyr is the same. A witness had to be ready to become a martyr. To be a witness means to be loyal, no matter the cost. (William Barclay) [1]
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Catholic Church who willingly died for his faith. There is surely some significance in choosing this date to commemorate the saint’s sacrifice of his life coming the day immediately after Christmas.
Surely such feast day placement is meant to bring us the message, that paying homage to the Babe in the manger should definitely move us toward a certain form of martyrdom by way of witnessing for Our Savior. It is to make us understand that following in His footsteps will eventually lead us to death – death to self, to worldly values and to ungodly influences in our lives.
It says somewhere that there is such a thing as martyrdom by doing and not only by dying. As the above commentary tells us "the real witness is not of words but of deeds." It means that we go about our daily responsibilities as faithfully as we can, without uncomplaining or grumbling. It may be in our homes, in our workplaces and/or in our apostolates. In fact this kind of "offering-up of self" is more difficult to do, because it entails both "doing" for God and "dying" to our own person.
As the above article informs us, the word for witness and martyr in Greek means the same thing. When we decide to follow Christ and be a witness for Him we will consequently be expected to make many self-sacrifices in our lives, that will make us voluntary victims for the cause of our Lord and His Church. Our self-renunciations however, should inspire others toward their own spiritual transformation.
The scriptural snippet tells us that while Stephen was being stoned to death, Saul was present and presumably an enthusiastic bystander. It should be remembered that shortly after this event, he was actively in the pursuit of Christians and he was trying to destroy the early Church. Yet, his witness of the first martyr’s murder must somehow have sown a tiny seed of the faith in his heart that prepared him for his eventual conversion. This must have accounted for his 180-degree turn after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus.
With these thoughts in mind, let us make every effort to witness for our Catholic faith with our lives, so that others may benefit from the good examples we provide. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit for the courage and willingness to suffer martyrdom either by doing or by dying at any time.
End Notes for this Bible Sharing
1. "The Millennium Stories" by Frank Mihalic, SVD, n. 320, "Witness," p. 160, Logos (Divine Word) Publications, Inc., Manila, 1997.
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