SermonStudio

This story about Stephen is a hard one to preach about these days. Lately, the idea of martyrdom has fallen under a bit of a cloud, don't you think? What do you think of when you hear about martyrs? In my experience, a martyr is either reduced to a psychological complex foisted off on someone who does too much for others, or it's a poor child with a dynamite vest ready to doom himself or herself and plenty of others for the sake of the cause, and the cash benefits paid to the family, after the fact. There's no question about it. The stock on martyrdom is way, way down these days.

What do you think about it? Would you be willing to become a martyr for the cause of Jesus Christ? Of course, if we are true to our faith, we would not be willing -- or able -- to take folks with us when we made the sacrifice. Just us, just us for the cause. Just us for the witness to the faith. Would you be willing?

This is a fascinating and difficult question. Today, with our young people flung out around the globe in the name of a war on terror, we know that at least some people are willing to give and to take life for a cause. This has been true since the beginning of human history. No judgment implied here, but this isn't the same as being a martyr.

In fact, I would say that the prospect of martyrdom is not illuminated by a question that asks if you'd be willing to die for the cause. My own viewpoint is that the question should be, "Are you willing to live your beliefs without compromise no matter what the cost?" Now there's a question worth considering.

How deeply are we committed to our Christian faith? How far are we willing to go, not in risking our lives -- though that may be the outcome -- but rather in living the life of faith fully and completely? This kind of commitment is not the path of zealotry. Zealots have a single, laser focus and seldom know much about listening, learning, or growing. Their minds are made up, their paths are set, and the goal is unshakable.

While we might say some of these things about committed faith in Christ, it is perhaps wise to look beyond the perils of zealotry and into the folds of a life lived well and fully in Christ Jesus. Again the question comes. What would such a life look like? Where would such a life begin and end?

It would seem that a committed Christian life begins and ends with the one unshakable truth of our faith, and that is "self-giving love is redemptive." Let me say that again. The core of our faith, the rock upon which our lives are built in Christ, is the sacred truth "self-giving love is redemptive." This truth bursts into our consciousness as Christians when we see the self-giving act of God in Christ for us on the cross. We see it, too, in the teachings and stories of Jesus in scripture. We also witness it in the lives of the saints down the centuries.

From Saint Francis to Dorothy Day to Martin Luther King Jr. and beyond, we see that the ultimate love we give is the gift of love that is imbued with the self. When someone loves from the inside out, with their souls, that love has impact. When we give of ourselves in love, that act has transformative power. Whether, like Mother Teresa, it is a life given in service to the poor, or someone like you or me who strives to live a life that is oriented toward self-giving, the impact of such love changes people. It has, as I said, redemptive power.

Now, as we wax eloquent about living, rather than dying, for our faith, let us be clear. Full and faithful living may well lead us to the cross. Faithfulness in life often does have a price. Whether it's honesty at the job that may cost us, clarity in caring for marginalized people, or standing in faith for unpopular causes, our living for God can lead us with Jesus to Calvary. The point, again, is the living. As Martin Luther King Jr. said on the night before his murder, "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will, and he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Only hours after sharing these words, Reverend King was murdered on the balcony outside his hotel room. You see, Reverend King loved life. He didn't want to die. But doing God's will and living the example of self-giving love was what was important to him, even more important than "longevity."

In this age of pop psychology and out-of-control world affairs, we must construct a new vision of what it means to go all the way for our faith. In a time where the concept of self-giving love is viewed as unhealthy by the therapeutic community, we step with clarity into lives of self-giving love. In a day when the notion of martyrdom snaps our attention to the evening news to see the shattered lives of a sacrifice that can only bring only more death, we must build a living consensus that speaks to the power of a living faith.

Together, in Christian community, we are called to go deeper in commitment and to dedicate our lives anew -- not to merely die for the cause, but to live for it. We are called into transformational living that offers the gift of love and healing to anyone we encounter, no matter who they are or where they come from.

As our world spins seemingly out of control, we have answers that emerge from lives rooted in the self-giving love of Jesus. As social fabric frays and extremism rears its contorted countenance, we have the clarity and beauty of what it means to live a life of balance and wonder in the folds of God's unfailing grace.

And yes, it does begin and end with love. Then, knowing of the resurrection, we claim that it begins once again! Born in a barn, raised on the road, executed like a common criminal, and back again on the third day! It all moves around the unmovable axis of God's unfailing love for us and for the world he created.

So where do we begin?

How might each one of us step more fully and abundantly into a life dedicated to self-giving love? What healing might we offer? What hope might we engender? What new life might we participate in bringing forth? Think about our relationships. Our families, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances; where among this collection of people might we offer God's incredible self-giving love?

Think for a moment about our church community. Are there ways that we, as Christian community, might live more fully into the abundance of God's love? Are there ways we could quit worrying and -- as Martin Luther King Jr. put it, "just do God's will"? What would our church community look like if we pooled all our efforts into being a community that focused all our energies on living for our faith?

In raising up this possibility, in lifting up this hope, let us make the confession together that we are and have been little more than part-time Christians. Let us lay out the truth that too often our faith ranks about as high in our lives as our commitment to the children's soccer games or our involvement in other social endeavors. Let's just lay down the masks and disguises and be real with one another about taking this faith life and living it fully.

My own suspicion is that this is what got Stephen into trouble. Sure, he was a bit of a loud mouth. It's likely that they couldn't get him to keep quiet about this Jesus thing he had found. My guess is he was a bit "over the top" at times, but my own sense of things tells me that for him, his faith was utterly central to his life.

This, sisters and brothers, is what it all comes down to in the end. Whether we are Stephen in scripture or just a regular garden-variety Christian trying to get it right, the ultimate and real call to us is to invest our lives fully and completely in the unshakable core belief that self-giving love has redemptive value. Moreover, we make this move, this investment if you will, as recipients of that love in Jesus Christ. We rise together to offer that same love to the world in beauty, wonder, and hope. Amen.