Thought for the week beginning January 4th

‘’Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”’  (1 Thessalonians 5:16 -18)

The calendar New Year comes close on the heels of Advent, the start of the Christian year. It is another opportunity to reflect on our lives and the past year, to think about new beginnings. As we look back on 2020, who would have imagined a year ago what lay ahead? Not a year for ‘’rejoicing always’’, some might say, yet among the evident suffering has been so much for which to give thanks.  As St Paul says in his letter to the Thessalonians, ‘’give thanks in all circumstances’’.  We might usefully reflect, during this week between Christmas and the New Year, on the example of St Stephen, whose feast day is celebrated on 26th December (as we are reminded in that traditional English carol which begins ‘’Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen’’). If anyone is a shining example of rejoicing always and giving thanks in all circumstances, Stephen must be a strong candidate.

 We read his story in the Book of Acts. Believed to have been the first Christian martyr, he was a deacon in the early Christian church in Jerusalem, one of seven chosen as ‘’men of good standing, full of the Spirit and wisdom’’ to assist the apostles. Stephen is described as ‘’a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit’’. We are told that Stephen ‘’full of grace and power did great wonders and signs among the people’’. Note the repetition, three times, of the word full. Stephen was no part - time follower of Jesus. He lived a life filled by the Holy Spirit. His teachings aroused hostility and opposition.  He was falsely accused of blasphemy, his accusers stirring up both he people and the elders and scribes. He was seized and brought before the Sanhedrin where false witnesses spoke of him subverting the law of Moses  We read in Acts that the council, looking intently at him, saw that ‘’his face was like the face of an angel’’. He made a long speech tracing God’s hand in the history of the Jewish people, ending by reproaching them as ‘’stiff-necked people’’ opposing the Holy Spirit just as their ancestors did, and now betrayers and murderers of ‘’The righteous one’’ (Jesus). There follows a dramatic scene in which the council members ‘’became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen’’,  covering their ears when he, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them that he could see the Son of Man (Jesus) standing at the right hand of God. With a loud shout they rushed together against him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. During all this Stephen prayed to Jesus to receive his spirit  and cried out in a loud voice ’’do not hold this sin against them’’(Acts 7.60), his last words before dying.

Stephen’s courage, his grace and a life filled with the Holy Spirit are an inspiration. Paul’s  letter to the Thessalonians, quoted above, was also written in the context of a young church facing persecution. While we do not, in our society, experience life - threatening persecution for our faith, we face the prospect of bleak days and months ahead arising from the resurgence of Covid 19 and a highly infectious new form of the virus to contend with before the encouraging promise of mass vaccination can take effect. In this scenario, It is a challenge for us to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances.  Many among both Christians and non - believers have over the years made New Year resolutions, which more often than not are kept for a short time only. So why do so many resolutions fail? They can be a positive sign of awareness of the need for change in our lives but perhaps we try too much in our own strength, instead of focussing on what is required of us by God. A good prayer for the New Year might be to seek the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in out lives, not just a dribble here and there but the fullness, the abundance of the Spirit which we see reflected in the words, deeds and grace of Stephen.

Prayer

Lord of the years,
we ask your blessing on the year to come,
Give us the resilience to bear its disappointments,
energy to seize its opportunities
and openness to accept the more abundant life
which you have promised to us in Christ Jesus our Lord

From More Everyday Prayers