American Lutherans don’t necessarily pay a lot of attention to the sanctoral calendar (the listing of various believers whose lives are instructive for us today). If they do, they often stay within a narrowly defined lane of believers mentioned in the Bible. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course. At the same time, such a focus can miss out on pulling in Christians of varied backgrounds, in various parts of history, whose story can enrich and edify our own day.
Take today’s saint, St. Romanus. He’s certainly not mentioned in Holy Scripture – he lived far too late for that. He was martyred today in the year 258. Liturgically astute readers will note that his day comes right before St. Lawrence, Aug 10. Lawrence was a deacon who was martyred for his faith, quite memorably (more about him another time, perhaps), but for our purposes it’s worth nothing that Lawrence’s feast day was a very commonly celebrated and noted one. His story would have been well known even to Lutherans of previous generations. So Romanus has some context in the way he’s remembered by the Christian Church.
Romanus was a Roman centurion who was assigned to guard Lawrence after Lawrence was arrested. As Romanus watched Lawrence undergo without a sound tortures that invariably loosened other men’s tongues, Romanus was instantly convinced that what Lawrence preached was true. After Lawrence was taken down from the rack that day, Romanus went to him and asked to be baptized. Romanus also brought water to the tortured deacon, and the kingdom of God advanced one soul further that day. Romanus became a child of God.
Of course, Romanus’ new-found conviction could not be hidden (nor should it have been), and thus he also came up for trial. When questioned, he answered promptly and forthrightly, as befitting the courage of a soldier. He was beheaded today in 258, the day before his father in the faith Lawrence also obtained the crown of glory.
What does Romanus’ story hold for us, in a dissolute, distracted, and isolated modern age? First, people need each other — Christians need each other. We can’t pretend that we’re each an island — just me and Jesus. Nope, that won’t work! It’s not God’s design for His people. We are meant to be with each other, encourage each other, and to urge one another on in the truth.
Also, you never know who you’ll have an effect on. Just by living your Christian life, you can be God’s instrument to help someone else. Let your light shine, and leave the rest up to God!
You might be wondering: How did I find out about Romanus? I pray the Daily Office (Liturgy of the Hours), and every so often I open up Daily Divine Service Book: a Lutheran Missal to the sanctoral calendar and check out who the saint for that day is. (By the way DDSB is a really excellent resource, it should be on every pastor’s shelf – I highly recommend it.) Today’s was Romanus. His appelation of “soldier” caught my eye, so I googled him, and here we are.
Your “family tree” as a Christian is full of stories like Romanus’. You may not know it, you may not be particularly interested in it, but it’s there nonetheless. It comes along with being a Christian. You’re part of the Body of Christ, so make sure you stay connected to the Head, Jesus Christ.
Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God: that, celebrating the heavenly birthday of Blessed Romanus, Thy Martyr, we may, by his example, be emboldened in our faith toward Thee: through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.