“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ~ Matthew 10:21-22
Merry Christmas brothers and sisters in Christ! Today is the second day of Christmas and the feast of Saint Stephen, a man who was filled with faith and Holy Spirit; who completely entrusted and submitted his self to the Lord. His suffering and strong faith to God is a great example of courage and faith that our Gospel speaks about today.
The disciples were warned by Jesus that by following Him they too may experience suffering and persecution. The disciples took the risk just to serve and follow Jesus and this only shows their complete trust and total surrender. But Jesus assured His disciples that the Holy Spirit will guide them and make them humble servants of the Lord.
The Gospel today reminds us to have faith in God and have the courage to face all life’s challenges and sacrifices all for the glory of our Lord. Like our fulltime missionaries in the community, they gave up their jobs just to serve God and lead other people from different places to be closer to the Lord. And during their missions, they too experience persecutions in various ways but God has filled them with the Holy Spirit and made them faithful and courageous.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, at times when we feel afraid and seem to fail, just remember that we have a great God that will help us. Let us surrender ourselves and keep our hearts faithful to the Lord like Saint Stephen, the disciples, and our fulltime SFC missionaries did. Once again, Merry Christmas!
