I had to do some ironing yesterday, and I decided to listen to something while ironing. I put on my AirPods and opened the YouTube app on my phone. Staring at me was an 18-minute video of a monk, Father Seraphim Aldea, at the Isle of Mull on the west coast of Scotland. That’s right, there’s an Orthodox monastery on this small island of Mull off the western coast of Scotland - one of many such outposts of Orthodoxy in unexpected places. But perhaps it’s not widely enough known that there is an Orthodox history to many places in Europe; an Orthodox history not dependent on Greek or Russian immigrants! The British Isles especially have a huge tradition of native Orthodoxy. Just think St. Patrick of Ireland! Or St Columba of Iona. And hundreds more! They are honored as saints in today’s Orthodox Church. We usually think that Greek and Russian immigrants are the ones who brought Orthodoxy to America when they established churches for their own use. But what is not generally known, especially among Greeks, is that it was Russian missionaries who first brought Orthodoxy to America, in the 1790s in Alaska, which of course back then was part of Russia! So there was a native Orthodoxy in America long before Russian or Greek immigrants started arriving in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The title of the YouTube video intrigued me: “Being young is VERY hard. A message for the old(er) generations.” So I listened while ironing and I realized that in this video God was telling me to share the monk’s message, especially as it tied in with what was on my mind about Saint Stephen. I believe that God is blessing the Orthodox Church in these ‘end times’ with men who are the Saint Stephens of today.
In the reading from the Book of Acts, chapter 6, we heard at the Liturgy this morning:
And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochoros, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaos, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Our reading ended there, but v. 8 continues: And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.…But a few verses later Stephen was arrested and brought to the council of Jewish leaders: “And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” Stephen then goes on to give the Jewish leaders a summary of their history, from Abraham down to David and Solomon, down to their killing of Jesus. The entire chapter 7 of Acts is taken up by Stephen’s speech. It is worth reading. The climax is devastating:
“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 not your fathers 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.”
And then:
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
“And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” They didn’t just accept the faith, they were obedient to the faith! Tell that to any of the peddlers of Christianity today, where nothing more than just speaking some pre-set words is what it means to become a Christian. If no obedience to the faith is asked, what worth is a spoken formula? Note in the final quote from chapter 7 mention of a young man called Saul. This is the Saul who later became Paul, the great apostle Saint Paul. Chapter 9 of the Book of Acts describes the conversion of Paul. While on his way to Damascus to continue his persecution of Christians, he encountered the risen Christin a blinding light. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” By persecuting Stephen and other believers, Saul was persecuting Christ! That’s how totally Jesus identified himself with those who believed in him.
The church honors Saint Stephen as the first martyr, the first to shed his blood in the name of Christ. The word of God increased, just as it is increasing today in Maine and Alabama and Colorado and in Scotland and Ireland and in Africa and in so many places around the world. The word of God increased, but the word of God also led to persecution. Jesus warned his disciples that in the world they would face persecution and hatred. We ARE in the world! Never since the first 300 years has Christianity been more hated than it is now. In Finland, Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen is being dragged through the Supreme Court by the state prosecutor of Finland, despite her acquittal by two Helsinki courts. Her crime? Do I really need to say it? She was guilty of quoting the Bible in speaking against homosexuality. You can’t do that in Europe. In this country you might not be taken to court - yet - but you will be canceled!
My generation, we the baby boomers, and the generations before and after the boomers, are responsible for much of the mess we are in. And yet, we blame the young people for the empty churches. The monk in the video sys that WE are to blame, the older generations. We destroyed the values that give meaning to life, that could have inspired the young of today and kept the flame of divinity in them alive. Young people should be on fire, like St. Stephen, to offer themselves to something greater. That’s why most of the martyrs in the early centuries of Christianity were young - young men and young women. But today in most churches young people hear about a domesticated Christ who tells them to behave and be a tame little person in their own little place. When it’s all about rules and not about the fire burning before God, who is going to offer himself to that? When there’s nothing to inspire them, they will find other things to fill their lives: drugs, alcohol, sex, mind-killing digital games and videos, pornography, and every perverse lifestyle and ideology. But this monk does not believe the young are lost. He believes that they will find Christ. He believes they will meet Christ because Christ wants to meet them! (I love this.)
I’m convinced that God will raise up men like Saint Stephen. And the word of God will increase again, as it did in Saint Stephen’s days. And the church will be persecuted and some Saint Stephens will be killed, but the church will grow with spiritual strength. And we will throw off the garbage we’re carrying that obscure and pollute the purity of faith in Christ.
Today’s Gospel reading rightly focuses on the bold women who fearlessly went to the tomb early in the morning to anoint the body of Jesus. Women too will play their roles in the re-awakening of Christianity. They will bring the spirit of life to the spirit of strength and leadership that men will bring. We Orthodox don’t believe in hybrid or interchangeable humanity. Male and female God made us! Our Gospel reading tells us indeed of a man who did his part so the women would have somewhere to go on that Sunday morning on their life-honoring mission.
Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
He was a respected member of the council - the same council that sentenced Jesus and killed Stephen. But what set Joseph apart from the rest of the council? He was also himself looking for the kingdom of God. ‘Also’ - meaning, together with the women, together with Stephen, together with you if you are looking for the kingdom of God! How do we begin the Liturgy? Blessed is the kingdom ….. We are here looking for the kingdom, praying for the kingdom to come. We wonder where is the kingdom, when will the kingdom come? Jesus said, the kingdom of God is among you, in you. You will hear me the prayer after the consecration of the bread and wine: “So that they may be to those who partake of them for vigilance of soul, forgiveness of sins, communion of your Holy Spirit, fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven, confidence (παρρησία - boldness!), and not in judgment or condemnation. That’s the fire that we must pass on to the young if there’s to be that re-awakening of the church. Fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit that we will celebrate in a month’s time, on the day of Pentecost, June 23rd. I pray you’ll be at Liturgy to receive the fire and pass it on to the young people, the young Stephens in your life.
The above is mostly similar to what was my sermon this morning. The audio is probably better than what I printed here.
Thank you so much for listening to God, and posting this wonderful article. Bless you Sister