Stephen was one of the seven men, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom, whom the apostles chose to serve the tables of the Greek-speaking widows in Jerusalem. Acts describes him working great signs among the people, disputing in the synagogue, and delivering before the Sanhedrin the long speech that traces Israel's history and ends with the charge that they have betrayed and murdered the Righteous One. He is stoned outside the city, and as he dies he sees the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand, commends his spirit to the Lord Jesus, and prays aloud, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." A young man named Saul stands by, consenting. That account is the first reading of the feast, and its placement on the second day of Christmas is deliberate. Christian tradition calls Stephen, Saint John, and the Holy Innocents the comites Christi, the companions of Christ, ranged around the crib on the days following the Nativity: the martyr who died in will and in blood, the apostle who died in will alone, and the children who died in blood without knowing it. The Church, having sung of the Word made flesh, immediately shows what it costs to belong to him. Red vestments are worn, and the Gospel is the Lord's warning that his disciples will be handed over and hated by all because of his name, with the promise that the Spirit will speak in them. His death is also the first hint of Saul's conversion, and Saint Augustine's observation that the Church would not have Paul if Stephen had not prayed has been repeated ever since. In many countries December 26 is a public holiday, kept with customs of almsgiving that recall the office of the deacon.

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Christmas

December 26

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