Tuesday 21 April 2026
St Anselm
Acts 7:51 – 8:1. Into your hands, O Lord, I entrust my spirit – Ps 30(31):3-4, 6-8, 17, 21. John 6:30-35.
We are called to keep coming to Jesus
The martyrdom of Stephen in today’s first reading is violent and described with great drama. Stephen, not unlike Jesus throughout the Gospels, is provocative. His desire to share Christ as Lord and Saviour is thwarted. We can sympathise with his lashing out as he faces death. Amid all this, Stephen finds calm. First, in seeing a vision of God’s glory ‘and Jesus standing at God’s right hand’.
This is the real provocation. Stephen is run out of town so he can be stoned. As this happens, Stephen has the faith to say, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’. Stephen knows that those who come to Jesus will never be hungry. We are called to keep coming to Jesus, in the moments of high drama and desperation, and in the long days of seeming repetition. Whatever kind of day this is, know that Jesus is giving life to the world, and each of us can share in that life.
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