Traveling Light - Saint Lucia

D. 304?

There were many dark days for Christians in the Roman Empire at the beginning of the fourth century. For many years, Christianity had been an illegal religion, but it had continued to grow as various rulers busied themselves with other matters—wars, plagues, the economy, and so on. Now Emperor Diocletian decided to put an end to the Christian threat once and for all, unleashing a widespread persecution throughout the empire, and especially in Rome. Christians were arrested, their property seized, and many were tortured or killed. They had to go underground to hold worship services—sometimes literally, in burial vaults beneath the city.

From this desperate time comes the story of a young woman named Lucia, or Lucy, who brought a bit of light into that darkness in several ways. Legend has it that she brought food to fellow Christians who were hiding out in the catacombs. And here’s the coolest part: in order to keep her hands free to carry more food, she crafted a wreath for her head that could hold candles.

Imagine that scene. You’re cold, hungry, and terrified of getting caught; you are under the surface of a city that doesn’t know you’re alive, and you want it that way. Suddenly you hear light footsteps in the passageway, and you see a girl bringing food, with what appears to be a blazing halo on her head.

The historical details are murky, but tradition holds that Lucy was martyred for her faith around AD 304, after being tortured multiple times. Yet that image remains—the girl who brought light into the darkness—and it’s celebrated in many churches every December 13, St. Lucia’s Day. Sometimes there’s a procession of girls bearing food, led by an older girl selected to play the role of Lucia, with a wreath of candles on her head.

How do you bring light into the darkness around you? Do you provide food for people in need, as Lucy did? Do you encourage people, reminding them of a God who loves them? Do people perk up when they see you, knowing that you’ll enlighten their lives?

Consider also the creativity Lucy showed, fashioning a newfangled candle carrier. Can you use your God-given creativity to find some new way to shine with God’s love?

Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Philippians 2:15