A Devotion for St. Stephen
If you’re like me, you might be feeling the post-Christmas slump. The presents have been opened, the (too much) food has been eaten, and the anticipation may have fizzled.
But, do not fear! We can find hope and assurance in the fact that Christmas is indeed a season, and not just one day. The traditional 12 days of Christmas as it was observed in the early Christian church is not a countdown to December 25th, but rather celebrated beginning on Christmas Day and the following 11 days.
I think that the early church was onto something in the way that they marked time. Christmas and the celebration of Christ being born into our world was just the beginning of a whole new reality, an inbreaking of God’s revelation to a broken and hurting world. It was, and is, larger than a single day or single celebration.
And so as we find ourselves in the season of Christmas, what do we celebrate on December 26th when, despite our best efforts, we can feel a bit down?
There’s a Christmas carol that often gets overlooked that speaks to this, or at least gives us something to consider. In the song, Good King Wenceslas, the lyrics speak of the good king who looks upon the world post-Christmas day, snow-covered, “on the feast of Stephen.”
This king (thought to be 10th-century Catholic Duke of Bohemia also known as Vaclav the Good) sets out to spend time serving the poor; his page, nearly lost in the snow, is able to track the king by following his footprints.
It’s a beautiful metaphor for following Christ. How do we follow the King? By placing our feet in the footprints he has already walked – by following his path and drawing near to the poor.
Making this story-song even more meaningful is the day that Good King Wenceslas chose to set out in service to the poor – on the Feast Day of St. Stephen.
Stephen was the Christian faith’s first martyr, killed for suggesting (among other things) that God’s presence was not to be found in the temple, or in any dwelling made by human hands. Stephen was a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 6:5). To give food to the hungry, to take care of those in need, is for him part and parcel of a single proclamation: for God is with us, born this day in the child at Bethlehem.
Good King Wenceslas and St. Stephen are the cure for the post-December 25th blues because they point us outside ourselves and remind us that the presence of God is not found within a single day, or a particular church building. The Christ child we celebrate does not remain in the manger, a static image to be worshipped but instead draws us outside of ourselves, beckons us to follow, to love and to serve. As followers of Christ, we are called to serve those at the margins, participating in God’s redemptive for the world as we serve those who are hurting, hungry and in need.
The story of St. Stephen belongs on the day after Christmas because he lived the good news of Christ; in him, the Christmas story is told.
How will we live this good news that Christ has come to dwell with us? How will our lives tell the story that lasts long past December 25th?
In the work of disaster recovery, may we come to know fully and deeply the spirit echoed in the last lines of Good King Wenceslas’s song:
“Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye, who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.”
In Christmas joy,
Chaplain Amy
It’s a beautiful metaphor for following Christ. How do we follow the King? By placing our feet in the footprints he has already walked – by following his path and drawing near to the poor.
Making this story-song even more meaningful is the day that Good King Wenceslas chose to set out in service to the poor – on the Feast Day of St. Stephen.
Stephen was the Christian faith’s first martyr, killed for suggesting (among other things) that God’s presence was not to be found in the temple, or in any dwelling made by human hands. Stephen was a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 6:5). To give food to the hungry, to take care of those in need, is for him part and parcel of a single proclamation: for God is with us, born this day in the child at Bethlehem.
Good King Wenceslas and St. Stephen are the cure for the post-December 25th blues because they point us outside ourselves and remind us that the presence of God is not found within a single day, or a particular church building. The Christ child we celebrate does not remain in the manger, a static image to be worshipped but instead draws us outside of ourselves, beckons us to follow, to love and to serve. As followers of Christ, we are called to serve those at the margins, participating in God’s redemptive for the world as we serve those who are hurting, hungry and in need.
The story of St. Stephen belongs on the day after Christmas because he lived the good news of Christ; in him, the Christmas story is told.
How will we live this good news that Christ has come to dwell with us? How will our lives tell the story that lasts long past December 25th?
In the work of disaster recovery, may we come to know fully and deeply the spirit echoed in the last lines of Good King Wenceslas’s song:
“Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye, who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.”
In Christmas joy,
Chaplain Amy
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