In one sense it is pretty jarring. This is the day after Christmas. You would think that we would continue to “tell tidings of great joy.” Instead this day the liturgical cycle assigns as the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. Why not continue to talk about angels and shepherds and magi and stars? The instinct of the Church is to remind us that the birth of Jesus is not some pious memory of a long ago event with exotic elements that we can feel nostalgia over. Rather, the example of Stephen demonstrates that the birth of Jesus means something in the lives of believers. We have a different understanding of what really matters — even life itself — because of the birth of this child.
