Matthew 10:17-22 NRSVue
17Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, 18and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the gentiles. 19When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, 20for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
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Reflection on Matthew 10:17-22
Inspiration from 2025-12-26 Daily Prayer
Today, we look towards the figure of St Stephen, one of the pillars of the early church, and we reflect upon the devastating effect his violent death must have had upon the early Christian community. How dark the times must have seemed to them … was this the end of their existence as a group of early Christian followers? It must have seemed so.
In reality, their despair sowed the seeds of fresh growth for them. It was from amongst the group of individuals who had so cruelly murdered Stephen that the towering figure of St Paul emerged, a tiny light springing from the darkness and desolation.
Further reflection
Lord, I have not been dragged before governors or kings, but there have been social occasions when I felt like a sheep among wolves, and metaphorically flogged for my faith. When I am under pressure, do not forget me. See that I am given what I am to say and help me to be brave enough to say it.
From the first day of remembering the birth of Jesus, the church remembers the first martyr. Birth and death are intimately connected with Jesus. The word for the place he was born is the same as the word for the 'upper room' where he had the last supper. In many cribs depicting joy of heaven and earth at his birth, a cross is placed in the back. We know that the destiny of this child is for a cruel death. The upper room was also the place fop the coming of the Spirit. In all of life, birth, death and all in-between is the blessing of the Spirit. We can hold our hands open this day for the coming of the spirit at the coming of the Lord.
St Stephen, in the midst of his sufferings, placed his trust in God. Jesus' words may well have echoed in his ears: "When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say."
Wisdom, it is said, is making peace with the unchangeable. Do I make peace with any suffering that comes my way?