St. Julian and the Broken Garage Door Opener

St. Julian of Antioch was very heroic. On his feast day of 3/16, we honor his martyrdom. He was trying his best to convert the Turkish population when in 306, the authorities decided to execute him. Now being a Christian of ‘senatorial rank’, a regular execution was out of the question. They threw poor Julian into a bag with venomous snakes and scorpions and then threw him into the sea. As you might have guessed, Julian died a horrible death.

When I think about all the stupid junk that happens to me, I have to remind myself that I really don’t have it all that bad. One thing that bugs me is my garage door opener is broken--first world problem for a first class ungrateful, whiny me. Oh but I can go on. My children are eating me out of house and home. My 14 year old son, Wesley, can literally eat a large box of Lucky Charms in one sitting. My daughter, Regan, runs cross country and needs new shoes every month. Zack, our 12 year old dog, has to be brushed every day and it falls to me to do it. My husband has to work late sometimes which means I have do all the dishes.

To put it in perspective, Julian was probably beaten before being trapped into a bag with angry reptiles and arachnids. He was not having a good day to say the least. But all he did was for the glory of God. Try as I might, I can’t relate my miniscule problems to his. The broken garage door opener is only a testament to my laziness.

Julian, saint as he is, united his suffering with Jesus’. He gave his life, pain and his heart to God. He lived Paul the Apostle’s letter to the Colossians. "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of the body, that is the church . . . " (Col 1:24). It is a Lenten goal for me to quit whining, rolling my eyes and fussing about how I have to go to the store again to buy food. At least, I have the funds, the ability and the means to go to the store. Julian didn’t have anything but he managed to die a richer man than most of us today.