Today, the Church honours St. Stephen, the First Martyr.
To begin with, St. Stephen had not expected to be a martyr.
He was a devout man and he was chosen to be one of the seven deacons to serve in the distribution of food for the widows and the poor of the early Christian community.
He wanted to be faithful to his duties, and at the same time, he also knew that he had to proclaim Christ as he carried out his deacon duties.
And that was where he was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people.
But that was also where he met resistance, persecution and eventually martyrdom.
St. Stephen reminds us that as a Christian, we too must proclaim Christ in our work, so that our work will also be filled with grace and even with power.
And when we face resistance and even persecution just because we want to proclaim Christ in our work, then let us entrust ourselves to the power of God.
The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.