Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr
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Grinding of teeth
“…they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he [Stephen] spoke. When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him”.
A couple of years ago I consulted WebMD as I was experiencing a dull, constant headache and sore jaw. Seems I was grinding my teeth. I learned that most people probably grind and clench their teeth from time to time, and that teeth grinding can be caused by stress and anxiety. So what was causing my “stress and anxiety”?
I’d recently begun a new job. I’d had to relocate. I was with an entirely new team of folk doing our work. Wow! The changes coming at me were monumental. Plenty to stress over!
Ultimately, I saw an oral specialist who prescribed a night guard to help relieve the pressure…and I ultimately bit thru that nifty piece of molded plastic. This was quite a bit of stress!
In order to ameliorate the jaw pain and teeth soreness, I needed to consider the source of my discomfort and then figure a way to address it for my own sake. There had to be a way to relieve the stress.
The fellows in the pericope today are all stressed out by Stephen’s courage and dedication. He was truly devoted to this Christ and the New Way, and they just didn’t get it. On this first day of Christmas, the story of Stephen’s martyrdom serves as a reminder (and a challenge to the reader and believer) that there is a way we know and a solution we have right in front of us to keep things “calm and bright” in our daily lives in the bleak midwinter.
Merry Christmas!
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