SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY IS NO CRIME
Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr
My dear encountered couples:
Some people can see and understand things that other people can’t. That’s how it was with St. Stephen. He was debating with a bunch of people who had come to Jerusalem from faraway places. We are told they couldn’t understand his wisdom, “they proved no match for him.” Maybe he made them feel inferior, or stupid, though he wasn’t trying to do that. When Stephen looked up and pointed out “the Son of Man standing at God’s right hand,” that was too much for them. They shut him up by stoning him to death.
Have you ever wondered why people can’t understand you? Have you ever wondered why you can’t understand them sometimes? We all seem to have insights and a kind of vision into the meanings of things that are personal only to ourselves. You have ideas, knowledge, and understandings that others don’t have. And they have theirs.
Those men couldn’t understand Stephen. Maybe he couldn’t understand them. We all need to remain open to new things. If we don’t, no one will be able to tell us anything we haven’t heard before - not even God. When you pray, listen to God as if you were just born. He may have some fresh, new messages for you. When you talk with people, try to be patient with their ideas. God just might be trying to tell you something important through them.
