Thoughts for the Day

For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Saint Lucy or Saint Lucia may not be that well known to British Christians, but she is well known in Europe, particularly in Scandinavian countries and in the Lutheran church. Many will have seen images of a young girl with candles in a ring on her head, and this is because her name in Latin means 'light'. Lucy was born in 283 CE in Syracuse in Sicily at a time when the Roman authorities were trying regain control over which gods the people worshipped, and to re-emphasize the Emperor as a god. The persecution under the Emperor Diocletian was one of the worst of such times. Lucy was a Christian, the daughter of a rich nobleman who died when she was young. Tradition says she gave away her inheritance to the poor, and her betrothed who was a pagan, betrayed her. She was martyred in Syracuse in 303 CE.

Lucy has for ever been associated with the 'One true Light who was coming as the Redeemer of the world', the 'Light that would lighten the nations and banish the darkness'. St Paul's reading to the Christians in Corinth is appropriate as we think of Lucy martyred for her faith in Jesus Christ, for the Corinthian Christians were also being persecuted. St Paul argues that our bodies are frail and can easily be hurt. But he has three answers, which we can apply to our own circumstances today:

• Even if our bodies fail us our spirit can still find a way to reach out to God.
• Even when we are persecuted we are never abandoned by God.
• Even when we feel there is no way out, hope never dies while we have faith in Christ.

Thank God for the faithfulness of Saint Lucy.

* Collect for the feast of St Lucy

God our Redeemer,
who gave light to the world that was in darkness
by the healing power of the Saviour's cross:
shed that light on us, we pray,
that with your martyr Lucy
we may, by the purity of our lives,
reflect the light of Christ
and, by the merits of his passion,
come to the light of everlasting life;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen.