"that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. " from the Acts of the Apostles, with reference to Stephen. Whoa, this struck me reading the first reading from the liturgy for today. I know too where Stephen was headed. He was the Church's first martyr. I hate even thinking about it. BUT, what I want to focus on is what happens when a person stands up and speaks truth to status quo. The established institution of that day (and the die hards) were unsettled by the words of the disciples. They were expressing powerfully the message of Jesus... love one another. Oh, but NO. We 're not comfortable with that. It's easier (I'm guilty of this too big time) to hang our hats on the rules and the man made laws and condemn. That holds us up somehow. and it means we dont' have to care about our neighbor. Maybe too we have our own internal rules that give us comfort and a compass. But, when the rules interfere with our ability to feel compassion for others (and ourselves) then we're on the road to Emmaus without our Lord. Been there, done that... most of my life. Change our hearts of stone...