Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”
When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. 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. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep.
The crowd said to Jesus: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
So they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
REFLECTION
Truth! Honesty! Truth is factual and based on reality. Jesus tells the truth and like Jesus so does Stephen. Jesus is Truth.
Truth is not easy to accept, especially, if one lies to himself. How do we know what is the truth? We have a conscience an inner voice that tells us right from wrong.
The original story of The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Coloddi is about a marionette who wants to become a real boy. In order to become a real boy he must tell the truth, be obedient, and work hard. At first he has a Cricket who helps him. He tells him the truth. He acts as Pinocchio's conscience. Pinnochio gets angry with Cricket for reminding him of the truth and he throws a hammer at him out of anger and kills him. Or so he thinks he’s killed him.
The story continues with Pinocchio getting himself in trouble because he has no conscience, until he meets a fairy. She promises him if he tells the truth, becomes obedient, and studies hard, then he will become a real boy. In the end Pinocchio's love for his creator, Geppetto, brings him to do all the right things: tell the truth, be obedient, and work hard. It is then that he becomes a real boy.
In God's Wisdom He created us with that inner voice, our conscience. But after Adam and Eve's disobedience, humanity has a tendency not to accept the truth. When we are told the truth like Jesus and Stephen did, we get angry and want to kill those reminding us.
Let us pray to accept the truth and to be obedient. Let us pray for all priests to accept the truth and be obedient to their vows and their spouse, the Holy Catholic Church.
Comments