St. Stephen

Today is the feast day of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. For some people, it seems incongruous to celebrate a martyrdom on the day after Christmas. From a mundane perspective, such an observance may seem like a downer. Yet, since the early days of the church calendar in the fourth century, the feast of the Nativity and that of St. Stephen have been bound together.

From a spiritual and theological point of view, the juxtaposition is subtle and fascinating. As in humility, God's Son is born on earth, so in humility His servant Stephen has his heavenly birthday. And even the birth of Jesus to be our Redeemer is inseparable from the work of redemption leading to the Cross. So there is joy, the feasting does continue, but the joy is not mundane. It has a profound and serious meaning. It points us to what C.S. Lewis in the Narnia Chronicles calls the "deep magic"- salvation through sacrifice. We rejoice in faith and love because the divine work of redemption for us sinners continues in a variety of manifestations.