The US Embassy and the Hardest Virtue

In Acts 6 some false witnesses have been produced against Stephen. Stephen has been selected, along with seven other men, to oversee the daily distribution of food (also see Acts 2). Acts 6 tells us that Stephen has been doing some amazing things beyond distributing food. Stephen has been preaching about Jesus, debating fellow Jews and performing acts of healing. Those feeling threatened by Stephen’s message and actions have brought him before the Sanhedrin to answer the charges leveled against him. The Sanhedrin is the most powerful Jewish court at the time. They are like the Supreme Court and have the power to issue the death penalty.

When Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin he is asked “Are these charges true?” (Acts 7:1). What is interesting is that the charges are not true. Stephen could answer the question with a simple “no”.  Instead Stephen produces the second longest sermon in the whole Bible and the longest sermon in the book of Acts. Stephen answers their question by retracing the entire history of the nation of Israel. He begins with Abraham and goes through Moses and so on. He is retracing the history for a group of people who are very familiar with their history. You can imagine that some in the room are starting to think “I know! I have heard this before!”. Yet, Stephen tells the history in a way that would have been unfamiliar to the Sanhedrin.

Stephen tells the familiar history in an unfamiliar way. Stephen tells the story of how over and over again God sent his prophet to his people and the people of God rejected the prophet. For example Stephen says that God sent Moses to rescue his people in Egypt. After leaving Egypt, Moses meets with God on Mount Sinai to receive the law. When Moses comes back down the mountain with the law of God the people reject Moses and God’s law. Instead they worship a Golden Calf. Over and over again Stephen tells the history of Israel that is different from the one that the Sanhedrin is used to hearing. It is the same players. It is the same people. Stephen has done it with a different lens. Ultimately Stephen’s message and story is a fundamental critique of power. It is a fundamental critique of God’s people who resist the prophet of God in their midst.

In Jesus’ time and in Stephen’s time the main way that Jews practiced their faith was through the sacrificial system at the Temple. There is only one temple and in that temple there is a high priest who will offer sacrifices on your behalf. If you have any sin that you would like absolved, atoned or dealt then this is done at the temple by the high priest. What you would do is bring an animal to the temple and have it sacrificed by the high priest on the altar. Now there are a few minor little caveats to this system. First, you can’t just bring one of your own animals. Even if your animal meets the requirements in the law you really need to get your sacrificial animal at the temple. These are the more authorize animals to use. So when you come to the temple you have to buy one of the temple animals. Because temple animals are the more authorize and acceptable there is monetary premium on that animal. Second, let’s just face it the priest has to get his hands dirty. He has blood on him and he has to wash his hands and it is kind of dangerous.  Thus there is another monetary premium that goes to the high priest as well. And, by the way, there is only one temple in the whole world that Jews can go to and make a sacrifice.

The temple system was a very corrupt system. Not only is it corrupt it is also the unquestioned system. Nobody challenges the system. It is the holy of holies. This is not something that you doubt. If you doubt it you die. It is not something to be trifled with.  So along comes Stephen and he begins to critique the system. He critiques both the sacrificial system and the temple. In Acts 7:41-42 Stephen offers up this critique when talking about Moses "That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. You can hear the critique of the temple worship. He does not stop there he continues a few verse down with However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?’ Stephen is saying that your sacrificial system and temple are bogus. To the most powerful people he continues and says “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!

If you were standing next to Stephen you might suggest to him to dial it back a little. That is some hot rhetoric. If you soften it a bit you might not get killed. Yet, Stephen turns the dial up even more and continues by saying “Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”Ouch! That is the nail in the coffin for Stephen as the story continues with “When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.”

 This stoning is because of the sermon he gave. The sermon that he gave was not an evangelistic sermon. He did not get stoned because he told people to believe in Jesus. He didn’t get stoned because he used Jesus name. He got stoned because he issued a direct critique of power. What he did was level a critique at the foundation of an injustice and he did it to the very people who were in power. Since the time of Stephen being stoned there have been many more stories of Christian martyrs. Stories that have happen in different places or circumstances and the issues they were dealing with were completely unrelated. What is consistence in almost all of the various stories of Christian martyrdom is that they reflect what Stephen’s story represents. 1. The pursuit of justice. 2. The commitment to love of enemy. The last bit of Stephen’s story reads like this "While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep." Stephen’s story is about a Christian who was willing to confront injustice with courage. He was also instant on praying for his enemy. Instant on offering comfort to those who were abusive and corrupt and unjust. I look at the story of Stephen and it makes me wonder if a follower of Jesus like Stephen can offer that much grace and love to his enemies than how much more can I? I am not facing anywhere near the same level of persecution.

The story of Stephen leaves two questions for consideration. One, who is your enemy? An enemy can be a lot of different things. An enemy could be another country. Perhaps your enemy has personally betrayed you. Maybe your enemy is the person that you disagree with on some point of theology or politics. We all have enemies. Second, what does it mean to extend love to that enemy? It is no secret that you have plenty of people allied with you telling you how justified you are. This is the hardest virtue for Christians because it is one thing to love a neighbor it is another to love your enemy. Being a follower of Christ is not for the faint of heart.  It is the most courageous love that says I am willing to die for something, but not willing to kill for it.

                This does not mean that love has no boundaries. Nor should a person suffer the abuse of others.  Sometimes we will need to assert boundaries as a form of love.   But only after we have asked the question “What does it mean to love my enemy?”Churches are well known for drawing lines and creating boundaries around who can or can’t get it. Boundaries like that do not fit with who Jesus is nor the Gospel message. In Acts 1 Jesus tells his disciples that the message of the Kingdom of God will break through any boundary be it geographical, racial , theological or ideological. He tells his disciples that they will go to both Samaria and Judea. Two places known for drawing boundaries around each other and considering each other their enemy. The disciples understanding of boundaries has just been called into question by Jesus and his message about the Kingdom of God.

                Perhaps today, in light of the terrible attacks on the US embassy, maybe we Christians need to seriously consider the story of Stephen. Who is my enemy? What would it mean to show love to my enemy?