Today, not on our Lutheran calendar but celebrated by many other Christians, is yet another feast day connected to spring and growing light, the Feast of Saint Blaise (pronounced blayz).
Blaise is considered to be an historic figure, but there has grown a great deal of myth around his life. A physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia, he died as a martyr on February 3 sometime around 316 AD. He is remembered for many miraculous (if perhaps mythic) healing stories to include saving a child from chocking on a chicken bone while on his way to his own judgement and death. He is said to have died by beheading.
And so being the day after Candlemas and with his being associated with stories about the throat, some early Christians through to this day often have their own throats blessed, sometimes while two candles blessed on Candlemas are layed in a crosslike shape upon their throat. Indeed in the Middle Ages, Blaise was considered one of “the Fourteen Holy Helpers” who during the time of the plague became popular for intercession for everything from a headache to an unexpected death.
These kind of practices – and the sometimes mythic aspect of these fourteen saints themselves – often caused them to diminish in stature following the Protestant Reformation. Our Augsburg Confession, Article XX1 teaches us: “Of the Worship of Saints they teach that the memory of saints may be set before us, that we may follow their faith and good works, according to our calling, as the Emperor may follow the example of David in making war to drive away the Turk from his country. For both are kings. But the Scripture teaches not the invocation of saints or to ask help of saints, since it sets before us the one Christ as the Mediator, Propitiation, High Priest, and Intercessor.” We remember and give thanks for the example of all the saints whether on a list for recognition or not, including Blaise, but even as we might venerate and honor them, we seek to reject superstition and, as Lutherans, we do not invoke them.
For his part, Martin Luther, seeing many abuses and evidence of magical thinking and idolotry in some cases, argued, “No one can deny that by such saint worship we have now come to the point where we have actually made utter idols of the Mother of God and the saints, and that because of the service we have rendered and the works we have performed in their honor we have sought comfort more with them than with Christ Himself. Thereby faith in Christ has been destroyed. [E 28:415; quoted in MartinLuther, What Luther Says, Vol. III, ed. Ewald Martin Plass (St Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959), 1254; cf. LW 36:299-300]. There is no explicit biblical citation supporting invocation of the saints (so Christians might disagree), but a larger concern for Martin and the earliest Reformers remained our human tendency for magical thinking.
Many great saints and martyrs have long been forgotten by the world, but they are never forgotten by God. Not everyone makes a liturgical list. Some through no fault of their own have become wrapped in myth. Yet, through the gift of faith, the legacy of any saint can instruct or inspire us in some way. They can serve as great examples for us. So, rest in peace, Blaise. Your efforts still burn brightly…not because of what you did or failed to do, but because the light of Christ chose to shine brightly through you love.
Through remembering the saints and martyrs, Jesus reminds us, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” With God’s help, may our lives burn brightly, too.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this post are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVue) translation.
© 2023 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author.
2pennyblog 