Thoughts for the Day

Stephen’s Speech to the Council

Then the high priest asked him, ‘Are these things so?’ And Stephen replied: ‘Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.” Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living. He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and maltreat them for four hundred years. “But I will judge the nation that they serve,” said God, “and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.” Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

‘The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions, and enabled him to win favour and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan, and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit. On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all; so Jacob went down to Egypt. He himself died there as well as our ancestors, and their bodies were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

In many Christian churches it is the habit to ask visiting speakers or perhaps those newly baptised to give a testimony. Not so well known in my own branch - the Anglican church - it's much loved by Evangelical churches as a way of teaching. But what is a Christian 'testimony'? One definition is this: 'A testimony refers to a personal declaration or account of God’s work, faithfulness, and transformative power in a believer’s life ... A testimony can include experiences of salvation, healing, guidance, or other ways God has acted in a believer’s life.'

In today's reading from the Book of Acts we see Stephen, one of the first Deacons appointed by the Apostles, deliver a powerful testimony to the Sanhedrin as he defends himself against the charge of blasphemy. He first gives a sweeping view of God’s saving work through the history of the Israelite people, looking at stories from the books of Genesis, Exodus, and the Prophets, highlighting God’s faithfulness and the people’s continual resistance to His work. The events Stephen describes are due to the power of the Holy Spirit, but his unshakable resolve will have drastic consequences as we shall see.

Sometimes we are asked to introduce ourselves to a new group of people - where have we come from, and what is our background? This can have the same effect, making us think about the past and how we got to the present. While training as a Deaconess I was asked to introduce myself in the 'sermon slot' during the morning service at a small village church. I talked about training as a Reader and then as a Deaconess; about the importance of the faith of my mother and aunt on my own journey of faith; and of how much knowledge I had gained through the words of hymns and psalms. On returning home, my husband Adrian (who was looking after the baby and 4 year old) asked how it had gone, and to my astonishment I noted I had never mentioned the twenty years of running busy church choirs. I realised with a shock that God had led me onto a new path and a new life.

Lord God,
You have been with us from our birth,
guiding our faltering steps;
and leading us into new paths.
All too often we pretend this is our own doing,
rather than the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Teach us to look back over our life
to see where Your hand has been at work,
and to watch out for such guidance in the future.
Amen.