Sunday Sermon - May 3, 2026

After joining us for some background conversation on the gospel reading, listen to Pastor Katie's sermon as she explores how we can learn how to serve all people and strive for justice and peace following the example of Jesus by following the gaze of Stephen.

Scripture reading: Acts 7:55-60

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Scripture quotations from the COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. © Copyright 2011 COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Transcript

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A reading from the Book of Acts, beginning at the seventh chapter, the fifty-fifth verse. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Look, he said, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. When he had said this, he died. So, confession, we had a bit of a technical glitch on Sunday. So we lost the recording of the sermon. I often preach without a script in front of me, which means that I don't necessarily remember exactly what I said on Sunday. But in the interest of trying to live into our commitment to posting the sermon each week, I wanted to try and recreate my reflections on the readings for this week as best I can. And that is what I have to offer for you this day. So in this week's reading from Acts, we hear about the stoning of Stephen. But before we even get to today's reading, we need to rewind to the previous chapter in Acts, when we learn just who Stephen is. Now the book of Acts in large tells the story of the early church as they were figuring out how to be church after Jesus' resurrection and after his ascension. It is full of exciting and inspirational moments and also full of acknowledgments of the growing pains of this nascent church. By the time we get to chapter 6 in the book of Acts, the community has grown considerably. And it's not just Jewish people. Gentiles, Greeks, are hearing about Jesus and being baptized. But there were some tensions between the Jews and the Gentiles in this new church. Those tensions actually show up a lot in the New Testament. But at this very beginning stage, one of the biggest concerns was how food and supplies were being distributed to those in need. Some of the Greeks felt like their needy people were not getting what they needed. The apostles, the people who had followed Jesus and his earthly ministry and had been sent to proclaim the good news, aka the OG crew, the original crew, knew that they couldn't do it all themselves. So rather than trying to overfunction, the apostles invited the people to lift up seven leaders. While the apostles focused on their preaching and teaching, these seven people could focus on serving the needs of the community. And Stephen was one of these seven people. He was well respected in the community and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. And indeed, God inspired the work of Stephen. Pretty soon, he wasn't just distributing food. He was performing signs and wonders. He began to proclaim the good news to people. But all this work that he was doing, serving people, striving for justice and peace, got him noticed by the leaders of the Jewish community who did not believe in Jesus. And just like they were suspicious of Jesus' ministry, they were suspicious of Stephen. They called Stephen to what was essentially a court appearance, and they demanded that he explain himself. But Stephen did not focus on himself. Instead, he focused on God. He told the court about how God acted throughout history, starting way back with Abraham. He recounted God's saving grace and God's gift of life for the people. But in celebrating what God had done throughout history, he also called out all the ways people have fallen short, tossed aside God's gift of life, and ignored God's call to love stranger and friend, God's call for justice and peace throughout the world. And the council knew that Stephen wasn't just talking in the past, he was calling them out too, and all the ways that they had gone astray from God's intention for the people. And go figure, they did not take too kindly to this guy, this Greek explaining to them, the religious leaders, what God had done and was doing. And they certainly did not appreciate the way that he was calling out the leadership for failing the people. So they brought sham accusations against him and sent him out to be stoned. And to be stoned was an awful way to be tortured and killed. It would have been a grueling experience for Stephen, absolutely unbearable. You'd expect Stephen to curse the people throwing the stones. You would expect him to warn them that they would get what was coming to them. But he didn't. He did not even look at them. They were not his focus. His focus was on God. He fixed his gaze on Jesus and did not look away. He held to the truth he knew in God's life and love and cried to God to forgive them, to not hold the sin against them. Fixing his gaze on Jesus did not eliminate the pain and suffering. It did not blind him to the injustice that he saw around him. Instead, it emboldened and strengthened him. It gave him perseverance in proclaiming the truth of God's purpose of abundant life for all, and the painful truth of the ways people have failed to live into that purpose. His prophetic gaze upon Jesus proclaimed the reign of God as it was present, even in the face of an angry mob that tried and failed to take his attention, his consciousness, and his energy. His gaze guided his heart, his soul, and his mind to live into what God was doing in that moment, and he called out for life and mercy, even in the midst of death. Fixing our gaze is not a passive action. This isn't a staring off into space. In Dance Speak, this is picking your spot. This is deciding what will be the focal point of your entire field of vision. I mean, just think about how powerful an intentional gaze can be. Next time you're in a safe space, fix your gaze on something over your shoulder. Don't just turn your head, pick a spot and look intently at that spot. Focus on it, and then try to walk in a straight line. It's hard. Where we fix our gaze influences what our feet will do. So Stephen shows us what it is to fix our gaze on Jesus, to fix our gaze on what God is up to. Stephen fixes his gaze on Jesus not as on a destination, but as on a way, a journey, on a way of being in the truth and life of God made manifest in Jesus. For Jesus is, for Stephen, the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, not to the exclusion of other ways of knowing God. Instead, for those sitting with him at the Last Supper, for those who have been joined in Christ in the baptismal waters, for those who know God and Jesus, for us gathered in this assembly. For us, Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life means that we see Jesus as offering us a way to journey in God's abundant life, endless mercy, and never-ending love. Because when we fix our gaze in the direction of Jesus, we will lead with the love of God, living in and offering the abundant life we have in God's mercy, not just in a destination in the hereafter, but in along the way of life in the here and now. When we, like Stephen, fix our gaze on Christ, we will be faced with the harsh reality of life in this world, but strengthened by abundant life in the way of Christ. Grieved by the sufferings experienced by people, but emboldened to serve all people following in the way of Jesus, impressed by the injustices of the world, but emboldened in God's truth to speak against it, and to instead strive for justice and peace in all the earth. When we fix our gaze on Jesus, we do not need to know the destination, for we know the way, the truth, and the life, as we serve all people following the example of Jesus and striving for justice and peace in all the earth. Amen.