Stephen’s brief ministry and death participate in and therefore set before us the continuous act of suffering known as the incarnation of the Divine Word.
One of the best things about Advent is the presence of John the Baptist, that hair-shirt-wearing, locust-eating, wild-man prophet, the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
For early Anglicans, the right handling of the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15) was a matter of life and death. It requires a heart that acknowledged the authority of the Divine Author, and gladly assented to Scripture's plain meaning.
What causes our divisions? Why do weak and heretical doctrines persist? I wish I didn’t find a solitary cave to be such a compelling option when I’m overcome by discouragement over the state of our Communion.
