Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we continue our Advent series called Ready Advent with the Saints with Saint Lucia. We've already heard about faithful Noah. But today, today we hear of Lucia, whom the Lord required something even more than the other three people that we are looking at, because she needed to be ready to give her very own life as a martyr for Jesus, Saint Lucia, ready to give. And as part of this sermon, I'm going to share a little bit about how Saint Lucia is celebrating Her name varies in pronunciation depending where you are. In England and other English-speaking countries, she is commonly known as St. Lucy. In Italy, Santa Lucia. And in the Caribbean, an island nation bears her name, St. Lucia. So her day on the church counter, maybe it's one that you're not even really that familiar with, or maybe even not at all. Croatia, Hungary, certain regions of Italy, and Scandinavia. In no way is St. Lucia day a bigger celebration than in Sweden. So thus we use the Swedish pronunciation of her name oftentimes that many Lutherans have Swedish heritage. So, some of those musical choices for today that you heard coming in during communion would be in the Swedish language. Now, the last time St. Lucia Day fell on a Sunday several years ago, we had some of our friends, the Guvens, who are natives of Sweden, And actually, the presentation there, if you didn't get a chance to check it out before church, you can afterwards. Their little daughter, who is a college age, put that together for us and sent that over for us to show. So I can't take any credit for that, but she did an excellent job putting that little presentation together. And I believe it was that same year they came here to help us celebrate. Of course, that was IKEA, the Swedish furniture store. If you don't know, they do a big St. Lucia Day celebration there every year around St. Lucia Day with lots of good food, and of course, you can purchase things in the store as well. They couldn't be here today. They didn't want to be here in person because of the pandemic concerns and the nature of the work that they do. They're in the jewelry business, but I hope I do Well, if you happen to be in Sweden on this day, December 13th, and you were uninitiated to what you were about to experience, you would quickly notice that it is a very big deal in Sweden. It's probably up there with Christmas and Easter, as far as celebrations go. You would notice that people would wake up early to greet the day's light. There would even be parades in cities throughout the country. And then there would be the children, the children There would be candles, and they would be carrying candles. This is what you saw on your bulletin cover here, a St. Lucia celebration in the traditional clothing there. Now in Sweden, in different areas, they will choose a girl as a Lucia, basically as a representative of Lucia. And they do this in towns, and they do this in schools. And the Swedes are not known as overly competitive people. They're known as pretty humble and cooperative people. Probably the closest thing I could relate to it would be kind of like choosing a homecoming queen in school. And there's even a national Lucia that is chosen, and it is broadcast on national TV. And the young woman that is chosen as Lucia for all of Sweden that year will perform various civic functions and visit hospitals and things like that. Again, kind of like Miss America for Sweden. And as you also may know, Sweden is a country where the Lutheran Church is the state church of Sweden. So most people are Lutheran. But unfortunately, Sweden, like many of the other northern European countries, has become very secularized. But on St. Lucia Day, you would find churches that were full So there are these special buns that are made, Lesser Cots, hopefully I'm getting at least close to that, that are made with saffron and they're dotted with raisins, and they are eaten on St. Lucia Day and around the Christmas season. Also, you'd be probably offered a nice warm, spiced with fruit and There are legion berries and they are made into a jam. St. Lucia Day is the traditional beginning of Christmas season in Sweden. It's a big deal. So who was this St. Lucia anyway? What is the meaning of these traditions that are associated with her? Well, when you study some of the early sources. But this is what we know about Lucia for sure. She died as a martyr. She died as a martyr in the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. And this took place in Syracuse, which is on the island of Sicily in Italy. So she was not even Swedish, she was Italian. And this took place in the year 304 A.D. when she was martyred. Based on some of the common traditions, we also know some other things that very likely happened in her life. Like many of the other saints, she is remembered as a kind and generous person, a person of devout faith, who stood firm in the face of opposition. As our epistle from 2 Corinthians instructs the believers, He who glories, let him glory in the Lord, for not he who commends himself is approved, but he who the Lord commends. Now the root word of Lucia. is light. And that is why her commemoration is so strong in Sweden and the Scandinavian countries. Much of traditional folklore in Scandinavia deals with themes of light and darkness. And as Christians, we know the Bible is replete with this imagery as well, isn't it? Light overcoming darkness and what is happening in Scandinavia at this time of the year. It is the time of the year when there is the most darkness. Since they are so far north on the globe, it is dark for much of the day. So, what Saint Lucia reminds us about is that even in times of darkness, there is light. And as Christ says, we are the light of the world, He is the light of the world, and we are His lights that He sends out into the world. of those lights. The light of Christ overcomes the darkness of sin. Lucia certainly had oil in her lamp, like the wise virgins of St. Matthew 25. She was ready when the bridegroom came calling. Her heavenly bridegroom. Lucia is said to have been born to Rich Terrence in Sicily in 283. Now, unfortunately, her father died when she was very young, so she was raised by her mother Euticia, Lucia was a devout follower of Jesus Christ in a time when the land was dominated by the darkness of Roman paganism. She is known for her many giving acts of charity towards the poor. And some of the traditions around Lucia are this, the strongest tradition is that But as Jesus tells us, wealth can come with challenges as well. You see, Lucia would make a very attractive bride. Why? Because whoever married her, the man that married her, would receive a very large dowry. But here is the problem. Lucia had vowed to remain a virgin, and she had vowed to give away all of her money. This was a problem because her mother had promised her in marriage Lucia refused to marry him. A quote attributed to her in pleading with her mother to call off the marriage is this, Whatever you give away at your death for the Lord's sake, you give because you cannot take it with you. Give now to the true Savior, while you are healthy, whatever you intend to give away at your death. It said that her mother gave in, and she called off the marriage. But this is not the end of Lucia's story. Because you see, by calling off the spirit, you can imagine Herbie Trove was pretty angry about this. He was not happy. For one, his pride was injured because the marriage was called off. Secondly, he no longer stood to attain As punishment for breaking this engagement, Lucia was ordered to make a sacrifice to the Roman emperor. Now, if you know your early Christian history, you know this was a common sticky point, because the Romans would allow people to maintain their religion, but they also had to, at certain times or if requested, make a sacrifice to the Roman emperor who was considered a god. Many Christians were martyred for refusing to do this or persecuting him. Lucia rightly said, I can't do this. I can't make an offering to anyone else who is considered a God other than Jesus. Jesus is my Lord. She refused to do it. So what's the next step? The governor now says to this young woman who's made a vow to remain a virgin, that she would be forced to become a prostitute. She would be forcibly taken to a brothel. But Lucia was steadfast of Christ. This is why Lucia is often depicted in that white baptismal gown, representing purity. Thus, the young unmarried women in Sweden wear white robes on December 13. Well, she never went to that brothel, either. The Romans tried. But the tradition is that even they attached to Jew the brothel. Well, the next step is they move to execute her. Now, some of the sources about Lucia speak of her eyes being gouged out, because the story is that she got a vision from God that the Roman emperor and governor would fall, and she shared that in However, these traditions, the earliest we can find a source for those are the Middle Ages. So that part may be something that was inserted later. But an attempt was made to burn her to death. The wood would not burn. So Lucia was executed by the sword. By most accounts, she was stabbed through the neck. So at the tender age of only 21 years old, Lucia had stood firm in her faith against all opposition. To her dying breath she gave all that she had to the Lord, even her very life, because she knew that her eternal reward awaited her in heaven. Red is the color of blood. It's the color of the martyrs of the Church, thus the red sash that is donned by the young Lucia today. So Lucia gave. rather than afford it for herself. She would not give in to the fears for her very own life, but she gave it, rather than compromise the faith. Remember that whenever we learn about and reflect on these early saints of the Church, they should always point us to God. Yes, they did heroic deeds, but they only point us to the true hero of history, who is God. And when you think about it, One of the attributes of God is God is a giver. He is a giving God. The Word became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born on that first Christmas night in Bethlehem. God the Father would give His only begotten Son, and not just on Christmas Day, but as the payment for the sins of the world, a world that had rejected Him. On Calvary, the blood of Jesus flowed. He was pierced by nail and spear It flowed in the greatest gift, the greatest act of love, and provided the totem. Victory over death would be accomplished. I pray that we are once again ready to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, that we are once again ready to reflect on this greatest gift from the greatest giver. We receive this gift through faith, and then we go forth in obedience. carrying the light of Christ into a dark world. We go forth with our lamps filled with oil by the Holy Spirit. When God called Saint Lucia home, she was ready. She was wise unto salvation. If we don't know them, the bridegroom will return. As we heard in that parable from Saint Matthew twenty-five, the bridegroom came at midnight. to claim his bride and we await that return but that trumpet blows on the last day and Jesus returns. Those that had oil in their lamps, well, they went to the wedding feast. But those without oil, they were left out. That's the fate of those who are not prepared, who are not ready when Jesus returns. Those words of Jesus ring true. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the son of man cometh. I pray that this Advent season, as we hear the word of God, that we are prepared, that we are ready. Ready not only for parties, presents, guests, decorations, festivities, and I know that may look different for some people this year, but whatever your celebration's gonna look like, pray that you're ready for the most important celebration. That day when the saints of God peace which has no end. Ready to give, ready to receive. Ready in the forgiveness that our loving Heavenly Father sent in his Son. Ready in that which is received only by the Spirit. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.