Today, is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, which is now part of southern Turkey, in the 4th century. There are many stories about this popular saint, but he is best known for giving gifts in secret to the children of his town on Christmas Eve. Sometimes the gifts came down the chimney. Sometimes they were left by the door. Sometimes they were dropped in through an open window. When Nicholas died, the gifts that people had found in their homes on Christmas Day continued to appear.
Another story behind St. Nick’s gift giving relates to the stocking. He knew of three sisters at risk of being sold into prostitution because they did not have dowries. So, Nicholas threw three bags of gold coins through the window of their home. The bags landed in the girls’ stockings, which were hung by the fireplace to dry.
These stories spread all the way to Holland, where St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6, his date of death, and children receive gifts in their shoes. The name of St. Nicholas was later brought to America by the Dutch colonists in New York, from whom he is popularly known as Santa Claus.
It’s fun to tell people that St. Nick was a real person. Even though some stories about him might include mythic elements, he is not a myth at all, but a true disciple of Jesus. It’s also helpful to remember that our treasured Christmas stories are very much grounded in reality: Santa Claus, Mary, and all the rest. God’s compassion and sacrifice for the sake of the world underlies each one. Even the baby in the manger, when all is calm and all is bright, testifies to God’s choice to dwell in the grime and grit of this life – a choice made manifest time and again in Jesus’ ministry as an adult.
When we consider the Second Coming – a theme for the season of Advent – we affirm that Jesus will once again enter the messiness of our world. Many Christian circles understand the Second Coming to include a rapture in which Christians escape all this messiness. But that misses the whole point of the Incarnation, which is that God enters our world to redeem it. Christian faith is not an escape. It’s an engagement.
During this holy season, may you fully engage the world around you, and may you fully engage God’s love for you. A love in Christ that has redeemed every aspect of humanity, from cradle to grave and beyond, so that we may rejoice without fear when we meet him face to face.
Adrian+