Keeping Stephen’s Angelic Face
Rev. Erik Swanson
August 16, 2026
One thing I became very aware of during my vacation was how difficult it has become for me to stay informed without becoming emotionally overwhelmed. I wanted to keep up with the news because there is so much happening in the world, but almost every time I watched the news or read Heather Cox Richardson’s blog, I found myself getting angry, disturbed, and even a little depressed. There is so much happening with which I disagree, and so much that appalls me, that it can be difficult not to let it consume me.
Making Groundedness Continuous
Then I went fishing for a couple of days. One of the things I love about fishing is standing quietly in the middle of nature, often by myself, unplugged from the world. One morning I was using tiny flies and catching surprisingly big fish, and I felt joyful, peaceful, and completely content. The world had not changed. The administration was still doing things I found deeply troubling. But for those hours, I was experiencing a different reality. I was alive in a different way. I experience something similar in morning prayer, in spiritual direction, and in our Sunday community. The question I want to explore is how we make that groundedness more ongoing and continuous.
Stephen Held On To His Holy Center
That question brought me to the story of Stephen in Acts. Stephen was living out Jesus’ teachings with grace and power, but his opponents could not silence him. They stirred up the crowds, twisted his words, lied about him, and produced false witnesses. It sounds remarkably familiar to the world we inhabit today. Yet when the council looked at Stephen, they saw that he had “the face of an angel.” In the middle of all the chaos surrounding him, Stephen remained at peace. He held onto his holy center.
I think that is a powerful image for us: the eye of a hurricane. The winds may be howling and everything around us may be chaotic, but there can still be a place within us that is peaceful and connected to God.
How do we get there?
Here are five suggestions for how we can remain peaceful and connected to God.
Stop Taking Things Personally
First, I think we need to stop taking everything personally. Richard Rohr says, “Life is not about you but you are about life.” We can turn things that are not actually about us into personal crises. If we can step back, listen, and ask what truth we might need to hear, we can maintain our sanity while remaining open to growth.
Keep The Storm Outside
We also need to keep the storm outside our deepest selves. We cannot prevent chaos from happening around us, but we can protect our inner space and keep it sacred. We can stay informed and engaged without allowing fear, anger, and anxiety to take over our center.
Unplug
This means occasionally unplugging. We need to resist doom-scrolling and give ourselves mental breaks. We can take a walk, notice a beautiful flower, listen to music, feel the wind, or simply sit and listen to a cricket. Beauty can reconnect us with something larger than the turmoil surrounding us.
Embody What We Believe
We can also embody what we believe. We can speak our truth, serve others, work for justice, and take even small actions to move the world toward what we believe God desires. Engagement is important, but so is maintaining our spiritual foundation.
Deepen Our Connection With God
Most importantly, we need to deepen our connection with the Divine. Whatever that looks like for each of us, it takes time, attention, and practice. Stephen’s face shone because something within him was connected to a deeper light.
Allow God’s Light, Hope and Joy To Shine Through
The struggle between outer chaos and inner peace is not new. It was present two thousand years ago and remains with us today. Our challenge is to find and protect that peaceful center in the middle of the storm, allowing God’s light, hope, and joy to shine through us into a world that desperately needs it. Amen.