Today is the memorial for Saint Lucy, who was born in Syracuse, Sicily, on December 13 in the year 283. Lucy’s father died when she was five.  Her mother, Eutychia, suffered from hemorrhages.  At Lucy’s urging, they made a forty-mile pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Agatha.  During their prayers at the tomb, Lucy received a vision and her mother was healed. 

Continually inspired by Saint Agatha, she told her mother that she would minister to the poor rather than marry a pagan nobleman.  She convinced her mother to distribute some of their wealth to the poor.  Lucy’s suitor reported her charitable acts to the Roman authorities, who had been trying to suppress Christianity.  Lucy refused apostacy, choosing instead to offer her life to God and let the chips fall where they may.  She died a violent death at the hands of her captors in the year 304, thereafter inspiring many others to lives of faith and virtue.

Before her death, Lucy prophesied the fall of Diocletian and the end of his persecutions, predictions which came to pass.  We celebrate no feast for Diocletian, and fewer still even remember his name.  But we remember and honor the faithful Lucy. 

Human endeavors often proceed in a cloud of bluster, but ultimately end in futility.  As we struggle, we may even become critical of the One who made us, judging His works.  Somehow, we may think we could have produced outcomes more to our liking!  And that includes making others see it our way and fall in line with our thinking!  Human history is filled with incidents of people grasping for authority, extending blame to others, and never seeing the fault the lies within them.  Few also see that God himself had to deal patiently with the uncooperative and belligerent.  Sometimes we are among them.    

Isaiah confronts such an attitude in today’s first reading.  “To whom can you liken me as an equal?”  We know far too little and presume far too much.  Yet God invites us to come to him to receive renewal, hope, refreshment, and vigor.  He patiently offers time to discover His ways and to see our own errors.  Today’s Psalm continues this theme, calling us to embrace gratitude and remember our place in the order of creation, which offers goodness beyond what we deserve.

Today’s gospel completes the lesson, showing us how God’s tenderness and mercy accompany us, as indeed our Lord came to us in his Nativity.  “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”  We may be working hard to produce a return on the talents entrusted to us, as our pre-advent readings illustrated.  But today’s gospel presents an image of our Master who is “meek and humble of heart”, whose “yoke” is easy and whose burden is light.

I once had the privilege of observing a demonstration of antique farm equipment by local farmers.  One fellow raised and trained teams of oxen, which pulled a ground-driven sickle mower used to cut hay.  He started with young steer calves, making yokes by hand from wood that fit their young neck size, gradually making bigger and bigger yokes until they fit the large-scale oxen which could weigh a ton.  He took great care to those yokes to suit the animal.  Do you suppose that our Lord also does this for us?  The analogy seems apt. 

Lord, help us to realize when we are out of our lane, acting without knowledge, respect, honor, and gratitude.  Please be mindful of our fragile frame of dust that is frequently in need of renewal.  When we cry for justice, help us to also recognize our own need for forgiveness and to seek your face in gratitude.  Thanks be to God. Saint Lucy, pray for us.