I had planned to celebrate the feast of Saint Stephen today, and then discovered that it is actually supposed to be Saint John. Unless I to use the Orthodox calendar, in which case it is still the Feast of Saint Stephen. Naturally, rather than choosing between two saints, I went with celebrating both.

My original plan involved drinking wine with friends and dropping off donations. I was going to listen to good music and dance around the kitchen. However, I woke up sick and have spent most of the day in bed. It can be hard to celebrate when you feel more like sleeping for the next two days. Christ is the great healer, though. I am not feeling well and I can still meditate on the fact that He has come to redeem everything, especially my sick body.

When I had a bit more energy, I read over the account of Stephen’s death in Acts. I was struck by how much detail Luke brings to his account. In story telling, writers talk about a scene carrying its weight. You want dialogue and action in the scene to do more than one job. If it’s only doing one thing, it isn’t very interesting.

The account of Stephen’s trial carries its own weight and more. First, it establishes the history of Israel and why Stephen believes that all of it points to Christ. Second, it establishes why the leaders disagree with him and find him so dangerous: if he is right, they murdered the Messiah. Third, it sets up the violence to come by telling us about Stephen’s murder at the hands of the priests. Luke seems to be saying, “Make no mistake, reader. These ideas are dangerous.” Fourth, it introduces us to Saul, later to be called Paul. He is the most unlikely side character in this scene to do anything for Christ, and yet the book of Acts follows him and his ultimate conversion closely. It’s very good storytelling.

As Stephen is dying, he prays for the people who killed him. When I was younger I wondered how Luke could have known about that since he wasn’t there. But Paul was there, and he must have told Luke all of it. I wonder what that must have been like for him.

St. John is a bit different. He lost so many friends to deaths like Stephen’s, and managed to outlive them all.He endured imprisonment on a lonely island and also had to write down one of the strangest prophecies in Scripture. Say what you will about prophecies all being weird. This one is very long and very odd. He was so faithful, though, all the way to the end, in spite of the strange visions and the lonely island. I hope I can love Christ like that.

My day of celebration didn’t involve drinking wine with friends. Instead, I thought about two men who died many years ago. I still drank some wine, but the day felt somber. Maybe that’s the point, though. Not all feast days have to be full of laughter and charcuterie boards and Yule logs and dancing. They can also involve a simple prayer and a simple glass of wine.

Happy feasting. And Merry Christmas!