Please read this passage before reading this homily.
Stephen was one of the first seven deacons. They were instituted to see that the widows whose husbands had not been born in the Holy Land would have their needs met. And so it came about that Stephen was working great signs and wonders among the people.
This caught the attention of some members of the Synagogue of Freedmen and other Jewish people who had immigrated to Jerusalem. These people, like Stephen himself and the widows whom he served, were not native to Jerusalem and the lands of Judea. They were apparently often regarded with suspicion, much as foreigners in our country are often mistrusted. They tended to show themselves more orthodox that the others to show that foreigners can even be more orthodox that the regular Jewish people.
Like Stephen, who was outstanding in his preaching and signs and wonders was more than ready to proclaim his faith in Jesus, these foreigners were eager to be good Jews. They arrested Stephen and accused him before the Jewish court.
At this point the narrative reads like that of the arrest and trial of Jesus with the accusations of blasphemy and the use of false witnesses. They also accused Stephen of trying to change the customs that Moses had handed down to them.
In response to this accusation, they saw the face of Stephen glow or shine the way the face of Moses would shine after he had talked with God on the mountain. Stephen, accused of changing the customs Moses had given the people, was looking and acting like a new Moses declaring changes in customs. The effect of this is clear in its reference to Stephen as a figure who has the same authority that Moses had.
This God of ours had some very clever and smart people writing his Sacred Scriptures for us.