Confident.Faith

Today we celebrate the Festival of St. Stephen, Martyr. St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons of the Church, appointed to distribute food and other necessities to the poor of the growing Christian community. In addition to such duties, the deacons also taught and preached. When some of his colleagues became jealous, they brought him before the Sanhedrin on false charges of blasphemy. Before the Sanhedrin, Stephen confessed his faith in Christ and rebuked members of the Sanhedrin for rejecting the Messiah. Infuriated, the Sanhedrin had Stephen dragged outside the city and stoned. Honored as the first martyr of the Church, Stephen is remembered for his dying words: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

Today we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord. During the Season of Advent, we prepared for the coming of Christ, and, now, on the 25th of December, Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of our Lord, God, Savior, and King. Christ’s birth was the fulfillment of part of the prophecy back in Genesis 3:15, and the promise would be completely fulfilled in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. In His birth, Christ humbled Himself and took on human flesh — true God became true Man. In order to save you from your sins, God did not send a mere prophet; rather, He sent His only begotten Son to take your place on the cross and die for your sins. His death is our life — what Luther called a ‘wonderful exchange’.

Today we celebrate the festival of St. Thomas, Apostle. Remembered, perhaps unfairly, as ‘doubting Thomas’, it was Thomas who said: “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.” When Jesus appeared again to the disciples with Thomas present, Thomas, displaying his faith, declared: “My Lord and my God!” According to tradition, Thomas traveled eastward after Pentecost and eventually reached India (where a group who call themselves the “Christians of St. Thomas” still exists). Thomas was martyred for the faith by being speared to death.