Voice: Doreen
Today is Monday, 17th of August. The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new week,
may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
Amen.
We read Psalm 82
God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
Acts 6: 1-15
1Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
2And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
3Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
7And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. 8And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
9Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.
10But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
11Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
12And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,
13and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,
14for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”
15And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Feast of St Stephen falls on 26 December. As Stephen is traditionally honoured as the first martyr of the Church, the tone of the day is strikingly different from that of Christmas Day. Perhaps this is one reason his feast is sometimes overlooked. Yet its position immediately after Christmas reminds us that following the newborn King may ultimately require costly witness.
Stephen first appears in Acts as one of seven men appointed to oversee the Church’s daily distribution. This appointment arose from the first recorded dispute between groups within the early Church: the Greek-speaking Jewish believers complained that their widows were being neglected in comparison with the Hebrew-speaking widows.
Acts does not tell us precisely how the distribution was organised or whether it involved food, money or both. Nevertheless, administering this assistance fairly would have required wisdom, integrity and the confidence of the community. Communication with the Greek-speaking believers would presumably also have been important. Significantly, the Church did not regard this as a merely practical task: those appointed had to be of good standing and full of the Spirit and wisdom.
Stephen was also actively bearing witness to Christ and was “doing great wonders and signs among the people.” Members of synagogues associated with Jewish communities from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia began to dispute with him. These were Diaspora Jews—what we might today call Jews who had “returned from overseas.” Because Stephen ministered and debated among them, we may reasonably infer that he could speak Greek.
His opponents could not withstand “the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.” In response, they secretly instigated accusations against him and stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes. Stephen was then seized and brought before the council. The consequences of this confrontation will unfold in the next chapter.
Let us pause and reflect on this.
When we speak to others about our faith, we may feel that we need an airtight argument to explain its truth. If you have participated in an Alpha Course, you may have experienced this yourself. In an age that prizes science and reason, we can easily imagine that evangelism depends primarily upon how intellectually persuasive we are.
Clear thinking and honest answers are certainly important. Yet from the beginning, Christian witness has also depended upon a living relationship with Jesus and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. Stephen’s opponents could not withstand not merely his arguments, but “the wisdom and the Spirit” with which he spoke.
Every person is different. We therefore need the grace and wisdom of the Spirit to bear witness to the truth and love of Christ. Perhaps our first task is not to rack our brains for the perfect answer, but to walk closely with God, so that others may see something of Him in us.
What would Stephen’s faithful witness cost him, and what fruit would it eventually bear? We will discover more in the next chapter.
For now, notice how Acts 6 ends:
“And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”
Even as hostility gathered around him, Stephen reflected the presence of God.
May we, too, walk so closely with Christ that something of his wisdom, grace and presence may be seen in us.
We pray the Prayer of St. Ambrose of Milan, 339-397
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore thee, a heart to delight in thee, to follow and to enjoy thee, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Be blessed by this song, Holy Spirit Living Breath of God by Keith & Kristyn Getty
Holy Spirit, living breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Let the presence of the risen Lord,
Come renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see,
Give me passion for Your purity;
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.
Holy Spirit, come abide within,
May Your joy be seen in all I do.
Love enough to cover every sin,
In each thought and deed and attitude.
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
Gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my strivings into works of grace;
Breath of God show Christ in all I do.
Holy Spirit, from creation’s birth,
Giving life to all that God has made,
Show Your power once again on earth,
Cause Your church to hunger for your ways.
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise;
Lead us on the road of sacrifice,
That in unity the face of Christ
May be clear for all the world to see.
Keith Getty & Stuart Townend Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com)
Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at terrywong@anglican.org.sg
Leave a Reply