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Good Saint Nick

Pastor Greg had put on his Advent vestments and followed the procession of acolytes toward the sanctuary. He stood aside as the acolytes lit the candles behind the altar, bowed and departed. As O Come, O Come, Emmanuel drew to a close, he stepped up to the center of the sanctuary and greeted the congregation.

“This is a day the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it.” He smiled broadly. This was his favorite part of the week.

He was looking out over the church family as they settled into their pews. All the familiar faces and a couple of less familiar ones looked at him in expectation of something wonderful and he hoped to deliver that for them today.

Jeb Powell was sitting in a pew with Aundrea Pritchard, the sly dog. So, that’s who he had his eye on.

Greg carried on with the service as usual. He noticed that Trilby Hughes had her eye on Jeb and a hairy eyeball toward Aundrea. For a guy who kept his distance, he drew quite a lot of attention from the ladies. Marta Kwock was sitting there next to her friend looking like a Korean version of Audrey Meadows. She really liked to put on the dog for church but now that it was Christmastime, she was kicking it up a notch. Got to give her points for Christmas spirit. He continued on.

People stood. People sat. Readings were read and songs were sung. He made his way to the pulpit to deliver his sermon.

Showtime.

“We all think of Santa and Christmas going hand in hand. That’s particularly true if we think of Santa as the modern repackaging of Saint Nicholas. Up on the housetop click, click, click. Down through the chimney with good Saint Nick.” That drew the expected chuckle from the congregation.

“Saint Nicholas lived in a city called Myra that is now known as Demre in Turkey. He was a member of the patrician class in Roman society. From the time of Jesus to the time of Saint Nicholas in the Third and Fourth Centuries and a few centuries to come, the Roman Empire held an iron grip on the Holy Land. Slowly and carefully, the early church was beginning to transform Roman society from its dour pagan origins to a more godly civilization. It didn’t come quickly or easily for Saint Nicholas.”

He looked at Jeb. “Change requires struggle, folks. It’s never quick or easy, but hopefully, you won’t have to go through what Saint Nicholas had to endure. We usually figure that if you do the right thing and mean well, that things will work out. Job learned this the hard way and so did Saint Nick.”

He looked at Aundrea. “He lost his parents at an early age quite tragically. Being patrician-born, he had a substantial inheritance. Being a devout Christian, he had a substantial love for his neighbors. He did a number of good deeds that he is remembered for to this day.”

He looked at Trilby. “One of the most famous stories was the one where he paid the dowries of a poor man’s three daughters to save them from a horrible fate. Back in those days, marriage prospects depended on your parents’ ability to provide a dowry or bride-price. If your parents could not secure a good marriage because they lacked the money or goods to provide an attractive dowry, you might wind up being enslaved. The prospects for a slave were considerably less than pleasant. Thank goodness, Nicholas was able to spare them this horrible fate with a few of the gold coins he was so famous for donating.”

“If you hang your stockings out for Santa to fill, you can thank Saint Nicholas for being the inspiration of this beloved tradition. Nicholas used to toss little bags of coins in the windows of people he knew to be in need. Sometimes, these gifts would accidentally land in the socks the people had hung by their fireplaces to dry.”

“If you wonder about how Santa came to be known for climbing down the chimney, Saint Nicholas sometimes came to a house that was locked up tight. Not to be put off, Nicholas would actually climb up on the roof and drop his satchel of coins down the chimney. For these acts of charity and kindness, he was highly regarded in his church community. When their bishop passed, he was away on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.”

He looked out over his church family. “During his return trip, the ship he was traveling on was caught up in a terrible storm. What do you think he did, folks?”

Greg waited a moment for the congregation to guess. A couple of them guessed correctly. “That’s exactly right. He prayed. As Jesus promised, we’d have the power to calm the storm with the power of prayer. Word got back to Myra before he did. He was appointed to succeed the bishop who had recently passed. From tragedy to miracle, folks. That’s God’s M.O. I know that a lot of you can attest to that. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of his troubles.”

The pastor paused for dramatic effect. “Being a Christian in the Roman Empire in the Fourth Century was not a walk in the park. It was barely tolerated and, at times, completely outlawed. One of these persecutions came in the time of Emperor Diocletian and Bishop Nicholas found himself in the clink. Fortunately, with enough prayer from Bishop Nicholas and the intercession of Christians throughout the empire, Diocletian’s successor was Constantine. Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. With his conversion, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire and Bishop Nicholas was not only released from prison but he was ultimately invited to the Council of Nicaea.”

“The thing was, folks, Christianity was spread all over the Empire and into regions beyond. Without anything like the internet to keep in instant contact, regional practices and traditions caused some conflicts about which things were ‘official’ and which were just too far off the beam. Standardization was a national obsession for the Romans from the very first days. This attention to detailed regulation enabled the Roman Empire to spread from a single city in Italy to the the entire Mediterranean basin and deep into France, Germany and Britain. Constantine hoped to bring this Roman efficiency to the rule of Christendom.”

“Just think of that.” Greg smiled broadly ”The salvation of a single man led to the foundation of a Christian nation after centuries of marginalization and even vicious persecution.”

“Bishop Nicholas took this charge very seriously. As a Roman Patrician, it was part of his very DNA to desire order and consistency. As a Christian, he wanted to see the mission of Christ and the Apostles to come to fruition with a genuine spirit of agape. It should be no surprise to you at this point that our Nicene Creed was the product of this historical meeting of the Fourth Century church fathers.”

“You’d expect a council of Christian theologians to be a harmonious affair, buuuuuut…” Greg laughed. “Well, you know how the budget meeting for the annex project went in June.” This drew the expected laughter from the members of the congregation who had been involved in the process. “If a single project got that many feathers ruffled among this small church family, imagine how the tempers flared as people from the length and breadth of the entire Roman Empire attempted to create a unified form of Christianity for the entire world for the rest of human history. That’s a little bit bigger than building an annex, wouldn’t you say?”

The congregation laughed and nodded their heads. He waited a moment and added. “Well, we often say that you need to be Jesus for someone else. When we say it, we usually mean that you should embody the love and forgiveness of Jesus. In this case, Bishop Nicholas felt like he needed to be Jesus for another theologian named Bishop Arius. Haha, some of you have heard this story.”

Greg took a deep breath and rolled his eyes as if he was trying to sugarcoat some bad news. “Bishop Arius had a different belief about the divine nature of Jesus and it was carrying a lot of weight in certain areas of the church at large. Bishop Nicholas felt that this was not only incorrect but it was actually putting people’s souls in danger to believe the teachings of people like Bishop Arius. Yes, Bishop Nicholas was moved to be Jesus for Bishop Arius one day at the council. Unfortunately for Bishop Arius, Nick decided to be the Jesus who was flipping tables and chasing people around with a piece of corded rope in the Temple Square. Rather than turning the other cheek, Bishop Nicholas of Myra delivered a staggering knuckle sandwich.”

Some people were shocked. Others chuckled nervously. Trilby got a devious twinkle in her eye that Greg made a mental note to chat with her about. “Christian charity can take the form of little bags of gold or a well-intentioned uppercut of disapproval. We try to discourage slugging people willy-nilly but, in fairness, Bishop Nicholas had a pretty important point in doing so. The very future of Christianity was at stake. He wasn’t going to risk the souls of Christians for centuries to come on the beliefs of Bishop Arius and his followers. As we recite the Nicene Creed in a few minutes from now, you can see how the argument turned out.”

Greg smiled. Time to bring it home. “For his many acts of Christian charity, for his zeal, for his devotion to the mission of the church, we remember today as Saint Nicholas Day. Remember his example as you go your merry way today. Be Jesus for someone when you can but save the knuckle sandwiches for the serious heretics.”