Friday, December 26, 2014

10th Anniversary: St. Stephen, the First of Many

One of the more poignant posts of the ten years of this blog came on St. Stephen’s Day last year.  Sadly, it is even more true this year.

There is a particular parallel between the martyrdom of Stephen and the martyrdom of now thousands of Christians in the Middle East today that we must not ignore.  After the stoning of St. Stephen, the church was for the most part forced to flee from Jerusalem. (Acts 8:1)  Today, the church is being pressured by Muslims (There. I said it.) to flee from much of the Middle East.  The population of Christians in several Middle East countries is shrinking precipitously.  It is distressing, and it is hard to see what can be done about it.

And I am at a loss even what to say, except to pray and to remember that the holy Army of Martyrs will grow yet larger and will triumph in the end.


This St. Stephen’s day particularly, let us continue to pray for those displaced, suffering and dying for the name of Jesus.

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