What are we afraid of?

 

As I reflected today on the story of Stephen, the first deacon and martyr (and my namesake), an image that came to me was of watching cartoons with my grandkids.  We can be watching a Disney classic like Lion King or Aladdin or some other harmless animation film when something appears to scare them!  In particular, I remember watching Beauty and the Beast with Lily a few years back in the theater.  We were enjoying Belle cavorting about the house, and the singing kitchen implements, and Gaston and his cohorts bursting out in rambunctious song.  As the movie went on, the Beast first appeared, and I smiled.  What an imposing guy he was!  I turned to remark to Lily just that when I noticed she had her eyes covered with her hands.  Puzzled, I looked back at the image.  Sure he was in dark clothes and had big teeth, but he was an animated character, for goodness’ sake.  Certainly, he couldn’t be scary, could he?

In the Acts of the Apostles, we have a similar situation (Acts 7:51 - 8:1).  Stephen, a man of God, was preaching to the people, dishing out some good old fashioned humble pie.  They were infuriated.  But then when Stephen mentioned seeing Jesus: that was too much for them.  Like children, they “covered their ears,” then rushed him and stoned him, and set about planning his execution.

Having had a direct personal experience in the matter, I know fear when I see it.  Stephen tapped into the people’s fear, and they reacted violently to protect what they had.  They obviously felt threatened at a deep level; and responded to that threat by obliterating its source.

 We all assume that the Good News is uplifting, calming, and assuring.  But it’s a shock to us that – to some – it could also be scary.

What is it that scared Stephen’s listeners?  Certainly, his scathing attack on their ancestry left them a bit miffed, but they didn’t become riled to action until Stephen mentioned seeing the “Son of Man in the heavens standing at the right hand of God”.

My suspicion is that there were many people at that time that preferred a dead Jesus to a risen one.  A dead Jesus is a historical figure, an episode of the past.  A risen Jesus is a continuation of the message that He preached, and a deepening of it.   Now, no longer tied down to human mortality, a risen Jesus is at the same time the Truth and the verification of the Truth.  He’s not just words any more:  He’s proof.  We can’t ignore the risen Jesus, because in His rising from the dead He’s guaranteed a new world order.

So the Good News might be seen as bad news by those who find comfort in the old-world order.

That’s why Stephen’s prayer that this sin shouldn’t be held against them makes sense.  He wasn’t forgiving them.  He was recognizing their entrenched fear.

It’s not too late to look at our own comforts.  Do we find comfort in our current “world order?”  Do we hold our hands over our ears (figuratively or literally) whenever someone broaches a certain subject?  Maybe it’s time to admit that there are some ideas that are just plain scary to us.  Knowing what those ideas are and perhaps why they scare us is the first step towards acknowledging that a risen Jesus is much better than a dead one.

Some of the people following Jesus when He gave “His Bread of Life Discourse” wanted some sort of sign that proved He was who He said He was.  They said Moses gave his people manna from heaven – what could Jesus do for a sign?  But Jesus explained that Moses didn’t give his people the manna – God gave them the bread.  And God gave us Jesus.  He is the sign.  He is the bread.  He is the manna from heaven.  How sad that those people were so blind that they couldn’t see what was right in front of them (John 6:30-35).

The people who stoned Stephen (including a young man named Saul) couldn’t recognize the prophets or the prophecies, and when they were told of their errors, they continued in their denial and refused to recognize their mistakes and refused to recognize the prophet in their midst.  The people who wanted some proof from Jesus didn’t recognize that God was right in front of them, but unlike those who stoned Stephen, when they did recognize Jesus, they knew He was all they would need.  He is the bread and those who acknowledge that will never be hungry.