Devotional for St. Stephen’s Day (The Second Day of Christmas)

Devotional for St. Stephen’s Day (The Second Day of Christmas)

Verse

Psalm 119:137–138 (ESV)

“Righteous are you, O LORD,

and right are your rules.

You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness

and in all faithfulness.”

Meditation

St. Stephen’s Day stands close to Christmas for a reason. The Church moves quickly from the cradle to the cross-shaped life of witness. The child born in Bethlehem is the righteous Son who speaks the truth of God, and Stephen is the first to die confessing that truth. Psalm 119 teaches us that God’s Word is righteous and faithful, even when it brings suffering rather than safety. Truth does not change when it is resisted.

Zechariah spoke God’s warning to an unfaithful people and was killed in the very courts of the Lord’s house. Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed Christ as the Righteous One and was dragged outside the city to die. Yet Stephen does not perish in despair. His eyes are opened. He sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God—Christ risen, reigning, and bearing witness to His witness.

Jesus Himself foretold this pattern. Those sent in His name would be rejected, yet He would not abandon them. Christmas assures us that God has entered our suffering, not to avoid death, but to conquer it. Stephen’s final prayer echoes the mercy of Christ, showing us that even in death, the Word made flesh gives life.

New Testament Verse

Acts 7:59–60 (ESV)

“And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

Old Testament Verse

2 Chronicles 24:22 (ESV)

“Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, ‘May the LORD see and avenge!’”

Collect

Grant, O Lord, that in all times of trial we may confess Christ with faithful hearts, endure suffering with patient hope, and forgive as we have been forgiven; that, following the witness of St. Stephen, we may entrust our lives and deaths to You, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn Verse

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

Stand in His strength alone;

The arm of flesh will fail you—

You dare not trust your own.

Put on the gospel armor,

Each piece put on with prayer;

Where duty calls or danger,

Be never wanting there.

(“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus,” LSB 660, verse 1)