Many Christians in formerly quite civilized places are now finding their Christian faith under attack, and they’re becoming concerned for what the future holds for them, places like California and Canada and even Australia. There are people, all around the world, experiencing genuine persecution and suffering. We read of Christians today who are being beheaded in Afghanistan, who are having properties taken from them in Pakistan, who are imprisoned in China and North Korea, who are refused permission to worship in many Muslim countries. And here in the West there is a shift; we recognize a shift in the culture around us, that is becoming more antagonistic toward the Christian faith and traditional Christian lives. Many people who are saying they are being threatened with a loss of their work, their jobs, because they hold onto Christian truths, and they are unable to express their Christian beliefs.

This is nothing new. Christian martyrdom began, of course, with St. Stephen: St. Stephen the first deacon, the first Christian martyr who began the history of Christian martyrdom that has extended through the centuries. We are told that when St. Stephen was facing this council of accusers, he looked up to heaven and he saw the glory of God; he saw Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father. So filled was he with the Holy Spirit, he saw the kingdom of God, and his accusers looked at him and they beheld his face as that of an angel. Jesus tells us that “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Such was the purity of St. Stephen, and seeing his face, seeing his purity, his accusers were still able to condemn him, to have him dragged away and murdered.

The spirit of the age that we now live in is that spirit of rejection of Christ, and a heart that has rejected Christ moves further and further away from the truth, further and further away from beauty and goodness, becomes unable to see truth and feel compassion, feel love and forgiveness. St. Stephen’s martyrdom was a victory, a victory of God’s grace over the conflict and the violence of this world, over everything that this world—the power of this world. Every martyr is a demonstration of hope and faith and trust in God’s victory, and we are called to put our trust in God’s grace and his victory over everything in this world.

St. Stephen is really a model, a model for every one of us. We must put all our conflicts and our struggles into context. There are people losing their lives as they have always done, and for many of us it hasn’t yet reached this point. That point may not be far away, but for now we are faced with everyday conflicts, difficulties, struggles, accusations. St. Stephen is our model because he shows us how to face these kinds of conflicts, these kinds of persecutions. We are to look to Christ. We are to look to the glory of God, set our vision, even if the face of accusation and persecution, set our vision on God, and hold it there. Let our accusers see compassion and mercy, even, dare we say, the face of an angel in us. Let St. Stephen be our model.

In this time, many people are becoming so concerned, so anxious, so uncertain about world events, what this future holds for us now and our children and our families. So we must prepare. We must prepare ourselves for whatever is to come, even if it be martyrdom and this kind of persecution. But how do we do this? How do we prepare ourselves? Well, first we must recognize that we are a weak generation. We do not live up to the great heroes and saints of the past. Such is the deception of our times, our culture, even our humanity is becoming deformed, so deformed it’s difficult for us to recognize just how far we fall short of the lives of Christians of the past. So let us not try to do extraordinary ascetical things; let us try to live out the simplicity of the Christian faith. This is our calling in this generation, and it will be enough. It will be enough if we can live truly just Christian lives, for this will be hard enough for us in this day. Let us try to repent of our sins; let us try to pray, to go to church, to receive holy Communion, to confess. Let us try to forgive one another, to have love in our hearts. And when we see anger and hatred and all those passions, let us turn to God; let us truly repent and root out these sins. This is our calling, to live out the simplicity of the Gospel.

In this age, it is so easy for us to be deceived, to fall into deception. This is an age of deception, with so many lies, so much confusion, so much that is so far from the truth of God. Let us always remember the things of this world are momentary; our lives are like a blink of an eye. The struggles, the pains, the difficulties that this world throw us, the things that God permits us to endure are so short-lived. Like St. Stephen, let us set our vision on the things that are eternal: the kingdom of God, the glory of God. And if we can, find the strength to live a simple, Christian life, to live out the life of the Gospel, we will find in the Holy Spirit hope—hope that will bring us peace, and this peace of Christ is something we must protect, hold onto as a precious thing, nurture it with this simple Christian life.

We are living in a world where, rapidly and in an accelerating way, the things that we believe will not only be alien, there will be hostility, open hostility to the Christian faith. We’re seeing it already. The things in Californian schools, the things that the government and local government are imposing on churches in California and Canada: these things are happening now, but do not be afraid. Let us not lose our peace. Let us not be afraid. Christ is with us. Christ is the victor in all things; he has overcome death, he has overcome the devil, he is risen. Our humanity is risen with him, and we will rise again. Judgment is coming. Let us prepare for that judgment. Let us fear the judgment of God, not the things, the temporal, momentary things of this world, and in this way, like St. Stephen, whatever our accusers say, whatever persecution may arise, we may truly find that peace by setting our vision on the kingdom of God.