St. Gregory of Nyssa
December 26th is the Feast of St Stephen, the First Martyr.
Yesterday the Lord of the universe welcomed us whereas today it is the imitator [Stephen] of the Lord.
[...] One assumed human nature on our behalf while the other shed it for his Lord.
One was wrapped in swaddling clothes for us, and the other was stoned for him.
One destroyed death, and the other scorned it.
[...] As Paul has said (Heb 12:4), Stephen [Stephanos] has become a spectacle to the world, angels and to men.
He was the first to have received the crown [stephanos] of martyrdom, the first to have paved the way for the chorus of martyrs and the first to have resisted sin to the point of shedding blood.
It seems to me that the entire host of transcendent powers, angels, and myriads both assist and accompany them (i.e., the martyrs).
[...] How did Stephen see transcendent glory? Who laid bare heaven’s gates for him?
Was this the work of men? Which of the angels enabled inferior human nature soar to that height?
Stephen was not alone when he was generously filled with power coming from the angels which enabled him to see what he saw.
What was recorded? “Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and saw the glory of God and his Only-Begotten Son” (Acts 7:55).
As the Prophet says, light cannot be seen unless one is filled with light: “In your light we shall see light” (Ps 35:10).
If observation of the light does not share this same light, how can anyone deprived of the sun’s rays see it?
Since the Father’s light makes this possible, the Only Begotten Son’s light emanates through the Holy Spirit which makes it visible.
Therefore the Spirit’s glory enables us to perceive the glory of both the Father and Son.
But can we say that the Gospel is true which says that “No man has ever seen God” (John 1:18)?
How do the Apostle’s words agree with the following, “No man has seen nor can see God” (1Tim 6:16)?
If human nature and power can perceive the glory of the Father and Son, their vision must indeed be mistaken. However, history is true and cannot lie.
[...] Stephen beholds God not in human nature and power but is united by grace to the Holy Spirit who elevates him in order to comprehend God.
Therefore, one cannot say that Jesus is Lord apart from the Spirit, as the Apostle says (cf. 1 Tim 6:16, 1 Cor 12:3).
One cannot contemplate the Father’s glory because where the Spirit is the Son is seen and the Father’s glory is grasped.
Gregory of Nyssa (c 335 – after 394): First Homily on St Stephen, Protomartyr.
