Saint Martin's Lent

This coming Sunday begins what the ancient church called "Saint Martin's Lent." It is the 6 Sundays (or 40 days) leading up to Christmas that begin the day after the Feast of Saint Martin on November 11th. November 11th was sort of like Thanksgiving for the medieval world, and the following six Sundays was a time of fasting and prayer in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ. It was shortened to the current four Sundays in the late Middle Ages for reasons that are unclear to me.

Saint Martin of Tours is one of my favorite people in all of church history. I have a particular affinity for him because the Chaplain Corps finds it's genesis in his life. Briefly, he was the son of a Roman officer and grew up as a Christian in the late 200's. He wanted to pursue a life of service to Christ, but his father wanted him to serve in the Roman army, so he obeyed. During that time, he had an encounter one day with a naked man along the road. Seeing the man and feeling pity for him, he took the red cloak that was part of his officer's uniform and cut it in half, giving half to the man. That night, he had a dream that Christ appeared to him and told him that He was the man on the road and that Martin had given the cloak to Him. It impacted Martin greatly.

He continued to serve in the army but told the leaders that he refused to kill anyone. He was perfectly willing to obey orders and die, though. That nearly happened in a battle with Germanic barbarians, but the battle never happened. Eventually, the army released him and he began to pursue his desire to serve Christ completely. He became a priest and eventually chose to live a solitary, monastic life. However, people kept coming to him to learn the way of following Jesus from him, so he always seemed to have disciples. He also spent a great deal of time serving the poor and needy.

His walk with Christ so impacted people that when the nearby town of Tours lost their bishop, they asked Martin to take the role. He absolutely refused because he had no desire for acclaim or position. The people insisted and physically carried him to town and installed him as their bishop... their spiritual leader. Martin finally relented, although he wouldn't live in the rather lavish accommodations provided for the bishop. Instead, he continued to live in humility. He continued to serve the poor and especially focused on those with mental issues.

Martin was also instrumental in the First Council of Nicea, which developed the Nicene Creed. He fought against the heresy of Arianism throughout his life, often to his own detriment. He stood for what was true to the end of his days. He is an amazing example of faithful and humble service to Christ and I desire to serve God like him.

In the years following his death, those who served as religious leaders in the military were called "cappelan" from the Latin word for "cape." Literally, they were "carriers of the cloak of Christ." The word "chaplain" comes from that word and carries with it the same idea.

During this time of year, I think about how Saint Martin incarnated Christ to the people around him, He never sought glory. He never sought fame. Both found him because of his closeness to Jesus. As we prepare to celebrate Jesus' first coming and look forward to His second coming, I think about how I am incarnating Christ to those around me. How am I being Jesus to them? What can I do to "carry the cloak" better?

SONGS FOR SUNDAY

You Are Good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6i6Kz2p2k

We Gather Together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahjZhZygvOY

Won't Stop Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7AC3u3yidA

Always So Good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5_ljVCH39c

Worthy of It All

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUjCBGwJHcE

Holy Spirit