Acts 7: St. Stephen the protomartyr

St. Stephen is known as the protomartyr of Christianity, the first to be killed for the faith. He is immortalized not only in the Bible, but also in that strange Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" (the "feast of Stephen," on which the good king "looked out," is Dec. 26).

He is a model martyr, boldly bearing witness to the truth in the face of fierce opposition.

Seized by an angry crowd and falsely accused of blasphemy, Stephen is not cowed; he preaches a long sermon summarizing salvation history from Abraham to his own time, ending with a blistering indictment of his accusers:

"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it." (7:51-53)

This pushes the crowd over the edge; grinding their teeth and stopping their ears, they rush upon him and drag him out of the city to stone him.

As he is pummeled to death, Stephen echoes Christ's own words from the cross: As Jesus had cried, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Lk 23:46), so Stephen calls out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (7:59).

And just as Jesus had prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34), Stephen also is full of compassion to the end -- his last words are a prayer for his murderers: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (7:60).

(Image: Giorgio Vasari, "Martyrdom of Saint Stephen," 1560s)