Stephen’s Statement of Faith

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The text from which I’ve read is one of the most dramatic in the Acts of the Apostles. It forms the climactic conclusion to a sermon preached by the Church’s first deacon, Stephen. Faced with a hostile crowd and the real possibility of violence, most people would choose careful words or try to calm the moment. Yet Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks with startling courage about his vision of Christ.

Stephen’s speech might be described as an early and well-developed “statement of faith,” something that we are familiar with in confirmation class.  As the months pass by, each lesson builds upon another. Slowly but surely, confirmation students build a foundation whereby they may express their personal statement of faith at this stage of their Christian journey.

Stephen’s story reminds us that genuine Christian witness requires courage . Stephen’s statement of faith, at the time and place he made it, led to his death. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he stands before an angry crowd and speaks about Jesus with courage, clarity, and grace. Even in the face of hatred and violence, Stephen does not return anger for anger. Instead, he prays in a way that sounds remarkably like Jesus himself: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” 

I want you to notice that Stephen’s “statement of faith” – his witness to the good news of Jesus Christ –  is not only in what he says. It is in how he lives. And how he dies. And how all this, taken together, makes a difference.

There is another person in the story who, because of all the commotion, we could easily overlook. Standing nearby is a young Pharisee named Saul. Luke tells us that while Stephen is being stoned, Saul is watching. Holding the cloaks. Listening. Observing everything.

At that moment, Saul certainly does not look like a future Christian leader. Yet the Book of Acts quietly suggests that Stephen’s witness matters more than anyone realizes at the time. Because not long afterward, Saul himself encounters the risen Christ on the Damascus Road and becomes Paul — missionary, theologian, and one of the greatest witnesses of Christian history.

What did Saul feel when he saw Stephen’s face? Did he ever forget it? Did Stephen’s courage strengthen him during his later trials? Did the grace of Stephen’s prayer return to him during his own suffering? We don’t know.  But sometimes Christian witness works its way into another person’s heart slowly and quietly through passing years. That fact matters on Confirmation Sunday.

(Confirmand), as I’ve said before, I say again: Today is not quite the end to your spiritual journey. In many ways, it is the beginning. Confirmation is not a graduation from church. It is the start of learning how to be a witness to Christ.

My former preaching professor, Tom Long, once wrote: “Christians believe that we cannot tell the truth, not the whole truth, without talking about God… Human beings finally want to tell the whole truth."[1]

Stephen, standing before the council, was trying to tell the whole truth as he had come to know it in Christ. Confirmation is part of learning to do the same.

Most of the time, talking about God, sharing your faith statement, bearing Christian witness, doesn’t look dramatic.  Likely, you will never stand before hostile crowds to talk about Jesus like Stephen did. But every one of you will have moments when you decide what kind of person you are becoming.

You will decide:

· whether to join cruelty or resist it,

· whether to tell the truth when lying would be easier,

· whether to include someone sitting alone,

· whether to show kindness when everyone else is mocking,

· whether to live only for yourself, or also for God and neighbor.

Those moments are also witness; they are also a “statement of faith.”

When those moments come, I hope you will remember something else about Stephen’s story: he was not alone. God was with him.

As I prepared this sermon, I found myself thinking about two of the great windows in our worship space. 

· One is the window called “Deluge, Covenant, and the Rainbow.” The artist depicts the chaos of the flood below, but stretching across the entire scene is the rainbow — the sign of God’s covenant promise. The window reminds us that even in turbulent times, God does not abandon creation. God remains faithful.

· The other is “The Parable of the Sower.” The hand of the sower casts seed everywhere. Some falls on the path. Some among thorns. Some on rocky ground. But some falls into good soil and bears abundant fruit.

Those who conceived these windows, and the artists and builders who followed them, have given these two windows a prominent place toward the front of our worship space.  Through the years, I have come to believe that these two windows belong together. Sometimes life feels like the flood: confusing, frightening, uncertain. Sometimes faithfulness seems to accomplish very little. But the sower keeps sowing anyway. God keeps working anyway. The Spirit keeps moving anyway. 

That’s part of what confirmation means. The church does not expect young Christians to become perfect overnight (or ever!). Rather, we trust that God is planting seeds — through worship, friendship, scripture, service, music, prayer, teachers, parents, mentors, and church friends. Some of those seeds will take root quickly. Others may lie dormant for years. After all, Stephen probably never imagined that Saul would someday become Paul. But God was already at work.

That is one reason confirmation matters not only for confirmands, but for the entire congregation. Today, the church promises not merely to admire these young people, but to encourage them, pray for them, teach them, forgive them, and walk beside them. Because Christian faith is never formed alone.

Perhaps that is the deepest meaning of a personal statement of faith. Not winning arguments. Not drawing attention to ourselves. But living in such a way that others catch glimpses of Christ through us.

· Sometimes through courage.

· Sometimes through kindness.

· Sometimes through honesty.

· Sometimes through compassion.

· Sometimes through simply continuing to sow seeds of hope and grace in the midst of chaos.

And sometimes, years later, we discover that God was using those small acts far more than we ever knew.

Whether you are being confirmed today, or were confirmed years ago, remember this: confirmation is not merely something completed once and left behind. Each time you listen for God’s call and follow, your confirmation is made more complete. Each time you bear witness through courage, kindness, truth, or compassion, the Holy Spirit continues forming Christ in you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

NOTES

[1] Thomas G. Long, Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2004, p. 5.

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