“I’m done”
Last Sunday evening my wife and I gathered with close friends
for fellowship and a great meal. We have
been meeting on August 10th for probably six or seven years
now. Grilling out, our group has
decided, is a great way to honor St. Lawrence.
If you’re unfamiliar with St. Lawrence, you shouldn’t
be. His story is well worth knowing
regardless of where you worship. The
legend of St. Lawrence actually began on August 6th in the year 257 A.D.
in Rome. By legend, I don’t mean a story
that blurs the lines between history and story.
Rather, he is legendary for how he lived his faith.
It was a time of great persecution for
Christians. St. Cyprian wrote a letter
about the danger of the time. “The true
state of affairs is this. Valerian has
issued an edict to the Senate to the effect that bishops, presbyters and
deacons shall suffer the death penalty without delay. Senators, distinguished men and members of
the equestrian class, are to be deprived of their rank and property, and if,
they still persist in professing Christianity, they too are to be sentenced to
death.” Later in the same letter,
Cyprian states, “I must also inform you that Sixtus [Pope] was put to death in
the catacomb on the sixth of August, and four deacons with him.”
The Roman authorities also demanded Lawrence, as a
deacon of Rome, bring all of the treasures of the Church. He was given three days to gather up those
treasures. In that time, Lawrence first
gave whatever worldly wealth the Church had to the poor, then he rounded up a
large crowd of poor, sick, and lame. He
marched the group to the Roman authorities and told them that this crowd was
the true treasure of the Church.
The authorities were not amused. Lawrence was sentenced to death by being
roasted alive over a fire. This is the
one place in the story where it is hard to separate lore from reporting. It is said that at one point, Lawrence told
his torturers, “You can turn me over; I am done of this side.” That’s why Lawrence is the patron saint of comedians,
and cooks. He is also, along with
Stephen considered patron saint of deacons.
The group I had dinner with that night were deacons
and their wives. We’re convinced that
Lawrence would certainly find the humor in our meal being prepared on the
grill. To ensure that, along with humor
Lawrence knows that his faith, courage, service to Christ and the poor and vulnerable
is still honored, we closed the evening by reciting the Evening Prayers for the
Feast of St Lawrence. The closing prayer
states our own acceptance of following in his footsteps: “Father, you called
Saint Lawrence to serve you by love and crowned his life with glorious martyrdom. Help us to be like him in loving you and
doing your work.”
Saint Lawrence, pray for us.
His Peace <><
Deacon Dan
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
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