whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
You are the bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Don't let us be like the elders and the scribes who "received the law as transmitted by angels" but did not observe it. Don't let us tacitly acknowledge you and then ignore you and continue to live however we want. You come down from heaven in order to give us life. Teach us to say, "Sir, give us this bread always" and to mean it.
Everything else leaves us hungry and thirsty. Only if we receive you do we find satiety. When we observe you like Mary does by treasuring you in our hearts we finally quench our thirst. You become a rock of refuge for us. What can the world do? You yourself fulfill our deepest desires and our most profound needs. No matter the circumstances which surround us you hide us "in the shelter of your presence from the plottings of men."
This is how Stephen is able to bear witness. He trusts in you to sate the hunger and quench the thirst of his heart. He is not at the mercy of worldly compulsions and drives. He is not led around by the nose by his survival instincts. If he were he would not be able to speak the truth to those who need to hear it because fear would close his mouth. He would not be able to forgive his persecutors because he would only be able to see them as enemies to his survival. He would not be able to commend his spirit into your hands because he would be too busy trying to keep his spirit down on the earth.
But because Stephen trusts in you to fulfill him he receives answer to the psalmists prayer.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Even as he says "Into your hands I commend my spirit" he sees you stand from your throne to receive him into the fulfillment of his hope.
Jesus, teach us to trust in you so profoundly. Teach us that what you give is all we need. Bring home the fact that the world only leaves us hungry, thirsty, tired, and angry. Let your face shine on us and give us always the bread of life. Saint Stephen, teach us to commend our spirits into the hands of Jesus just as you do.
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