Feast of St. Nicholas
Today is the feast of St. Nicholas, one of the oldest and best known saints in the history of the Church. With all of the current controversy surrounding the over-commercialization of Christmas at this time of year, I think that a good comparison can be made between St. Nicholas and Santa Claus. This sentiment is explored at the website of the St. Nicholas Center:
It’s been a long journey from the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra, St. Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in extraordinary kindness and generosity, to America’s jolly Santa Claus. However, if you peel back the accretions he is still Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises continue to model true giving and faithfulness.
There is growing interest in reclaiming the original saint in the United States to help restore the spiritual dimension of this festive time. For indeed, St. Nicholas, lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are meant to live. A bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the center of his life, his ministry, his entire existence. Families, churches, and schools are embracing true St Nicholas traditions as one way to claim the true center of Christmas—the birth of Jesus. Such a focus helps restore balance to increasingly materialistic and stress-filled Advent and Christmas seasons.
It is worth remembering that the traditions of the church year can help us here. Just as Advent is a full season of four weeks, Christmas is also a season of the twelve days until Epiphany, not just a one-day blow out. My friend Nick Knisely has recently explored this idea in his post ‘Christmas as a Season and not as an event…’ Among other things, he comments on the post-Christmas letdown:
The other, more practical concern, is that trying to compress two months worth of expectations into a frenzied hour of observance almost always leads to a sense of disappointment, an emotional letdown, and the inevitable question “Is this all then?” People who suffer from depression and anxiety during the holidays are often reacting to the particular experience of emptiness and exhaustion that follows the long long buildup. Helping people manage the post-holiday letdown is one of the most common tasks of the clergy in January and February.
So, with these things in mind, let me leave you with this prayer from the St. Nicholas Society:
Good St Nicholas,
Help us prepare for the miracle of the coming of Jesus.
Help us not to be blind to the gifts of getting ready.
Help us be sincere in the greetings we send and receive, with love and prayer.Kind St. Nicholas, protect us from shoppers’ fatigue, stress, overspending, yet help us to be kind and generous of heart to all, especially those who are alone, financial poor and fearful.
May our celebration of your feast lead others to see the true meaning of giving and receiving and to guide all people to
The greatest of all gifts, even Jesus Christ, prince of peace and child of Mary, Our Lord and only saviour.
Amen.
Yesterday was World AIDS Day, and even though everyone knows about this disease, we really need to keep pushing our government and others around the world to keep their promise to put real funds at work to do something about it. This is not optional. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first diagnosed in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Currently, the World Health Organization estimates that there are about 40 million people living with the human immunodeficiency virus, and in 2005 alone approximately 3 million adults and children died from the disease. In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we are asked the following: