Midweek Advent Message

Midweek Advent

December 13, 2023

2 Peter 3:8-14

In this blessed Advent season, a holy time of waiting and watching, not just for the annual celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas, but for his second advent – his coming again in great power and glory – there are days of special remembrance. Today is one such day. In our Midweek Advent worship last week, we heard of St. Nicholas and his feast day on December 6. Today, one week later, December 13 commemorates another long-ago child of God, St. Lucy, or Santa Lucia. Though perhaps unfamiliar to us, in the Scandinavian lands especially she is beloved and remembered with much ceremony. Her name, Lucia, means “light.” Now in these darkest days, Lucy’s crown of lights shines brightly and points us to the One who is the Light of the world, and who tells us: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

As with Nicholas, much of what we know about Lucy comes from legend, and yet, within every legend there is at least a grain of truth. We do know that she was from the island of Sicily off the southern coast of Italy, in or near the city of Syracuse, and that she died a martyr’s death in the year 304 A.D. when she was about twenty-one years old. Having resolved to dedicate her life to Christ, she chose to live a life of virginity. Refusing to offer sacrifice to the emperor, she was killed by the sword during the Diocletian persecutions (303-313 A.D.). “Later narratives relate that her death was hastened once her eyes were gouged out, while another says she gouged out her own eyes to deter a suitor. For these legends, St. Lucy is remembered as a patroness of those suffering afflictions of the eye, and in art she typically is depicted holding eyes on a platter… In Scandinavian countries, where little daylight is seen in the dark days of December, the people celebrate St. Lucy’s feast with much enthusiasm. Young girls dressed in white deliver sweets while caroling. They wear red sashes to commemorate St. Lucy’s martyrdom, and wreaths of lit candles sit on their head, representing the light of Christ that shone through… the virgin-saint of Syracuse” (The holiness of the virgin-martyr St. Lucy | Simply Catholic).

Having lived more than 1700 years ago, Lucy’s life may seem more legend than reality. It was so long ago and so far away; it is hard, if not impossible, to know where fact ends and fiction begins. Whether just yesterday or 1700 years ago, the words of the apostle Peter in today’s Scripture lesson remind us: “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9). The Lord does not measure time as we do, and we would do well to remember this truth in our own lives. In this Advent season, as the church prays, “Lord Jesus, come!” (Revelation 22:20b), we understand more about why the Lord delays his promised coming. It is because he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (Joel 2:13), not wanting that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And so we wait, but what do we do while we wait?

The life of Lucy herself, together with the life-giving Word of God from Peter, remind us what our waiting should look like: “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace… You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity” (2 Peter 3:14, 17-18). In truth, like Lucy’s very name, we also are to be light – not our own, but that of Jesus, as he tells us: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). May it be so with each one of us in this Advent season, and in every season of life, until Christ shall come again. Amen.