Christmas Day,
December 25, 2005
Sermon: “Saint Nicholas Revisited”
Scripture: Luke 2:8-20
Reverend Larry Gerber
A Turkish town has taken down a bronze St. Nicholas and replaced him with a tacky plaster-of-Paris Santa.
He made his list. Checked it twice. Googled the Web, and found out who’s been naughty ... who’s been nice.
Then it happened, last night: Santa Claus came to town.
All across America, excited children rushed out of their bedrooms to see what Santa had delivered in the darkness. The anticipation! Little hearts beat into near arrhythmia. Visions of iPods, X-boxes, cell phones and bling-bling danced across their mind-screens. For most of these digital dervishes and pre-adolescents, Santa’s annual download of presents is one of the highlights of the year.
Well, okay. THE highlight of the year.
But you have to wonder: Has Santa become too much a part of the present thing, the bag of goodies thing, the jolly old man in the red suit thing.
And there’s an even bigger question for us, in the Christian community. Has Santa lost touch? Have we lost touch with his roots as a Christian saint named Nicholas?
There’s some fresh evidence from a seaside town in Turkey that Santa has succeeded in replacing Saint Nick. The town is called Demre, and it is on that spot, back in the fourth century that a Christian bishop named Nicholas lived a life of faith and performed an impressive number of good works. After his death, he became the patron saint of sailors, barrel-makers, small children and Russians.
For years, Russian tourists visited the town to pay their respects to their patron saint, and about five years ago a Russian sculptor donated a bronze statue of Nicholas to be displayed in the center of town.
But then, on February 3, 2005, the Demre City Council voted unanimously to erect a statue of Santa Claus on the town square, a plaster-of-Paris image of the jolly man in the red suit.
The elegant bronze statue of Saint Nicholas — deposed.
In this Turkish town, Santa rules. Even if he looks a little funny in the hot Mediterranean sun.
“This is the one everyone knows,” said the mayor of Demre to The Washington Post (March 24, 2005). He figured that the Santa statue was a better fit with the business interests of this little “Christmas-land.” Images of the secular Santa appear on a stone archway on the edge of town, and the city’s official seal features a picture of Santa with a stylish red cap. If you are looking for a hand-woven wall hanging of Santa, with bushy whiskers made of lamb’s wool, then Demre is the place you need to go.
Saint Nicholas has been deposed, replaced.
While there’s nothing we can do to reverse the actions of the Demre City Council, we can certainly turn our own attention to the first Saint Nick, and to the Christ child that he worshiped. Nicholas was a passionate follower of Christ, and there are some gifts he can give us that have nothing to do with Santa’s bag of loot. From both Nicholas and Jesus, we discover the true significance of God’s glory and God’s grace.
Think first about glory. In the eyes of the world, it is often associated with a high point of human achievement, enjoyment or prosperity. We speak of glorious accomplishments ... glorious vacations ... glorious dream homes. But in the eyes of God, glory is associated with the birth of a child in a manger, in a stable built for cows, a little baby who is born to be our Savior, our Messiah, our Lord. On that first Christmas day, heavenly glory did not go to Caesar Augustus, the Roman emperor known to the world as a bringer of peace. Instead, it went to a newborn king named Jesus, the source of a peace that passes all understanding.
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,” said the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem, “and on earth peace among those whom he favors” (Luke 2:14). The greatest honor, praise and distinction of all time goes to a child who will never achieve material prosperity, a life of leisure, or any of the marks of worldly accomplishment. Instead, he is given glory because he will grow up to become a servant leader, and be the Savior of all the world.
Saint Nicholas attempted to follow the Christ child by serving others in whatever way he could. He was born to wealthy parents, and was in line to enjoy the glory of earthly prosperity and achievement. But he heard the challenge of Jesus to “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor” (Luke 18:22), so he used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick and the suffering. He was made a bishop of the church while still a young man, and became known for his love of children, and his generosity to those in need.
Christmas is a good time for us to do a glory-check. We need to ask ourselves where we are finding glory in our own lives. Is it in our achievements, in our prosperity, in our enjoyment of a pile of gifts on Christmas morning? Or is it in our care for the vulnerable children of our world, and in our service to the sick and the suffering and the poor all around us?
Around the time that Nicholas was performing his ministry, another bishop was called to the royal court by the Roman emperor, and ordered to produce “the treasures of the church.” The emperor felt threatened by the growing Christian church, and wanted a piece of the wealth that he believed the Christians must possess.
The bishop protested, saying that the church had no gold or jewels or other valuables. But the emperor was adamant, and demanded that the riches of the church be brought to him in the morning.
The next day, the bishop appeared at the palace doorway. He was empty-handed. “I told you to bring me the treasures of the church!” the emperor thundered.
The bishop then invited the emperor to look out at the palace steps. Gathered together, peering sheepishly at the great doors of the palace rising above them, was a mass of beggars, cripples, slaves and outcasts.
“These,” said the bishop to the emperor, “are the treasures of the church.”
The treasure of the church is its people — it is a treasure made up of everyone who believes in Jesus, and everyone we are called to serve in the name of Christ. Our glory is found not in gold or jewels or the gifts we found under the tree this morning, but in the opportunities we have to love our neighbors, and to show generosity to those in need.
So both Saint Nicholas and Jesus can teach us about the true meaning of God’s glory. But they also open our eyes to the riches of God’s grace. One of the joys of Christmas is that it is a time of gift-giving, and there is really nothing wrong with offering presents on this particular holiday. After all, it was on Christmas day that God gave us the greatest present of all time — the gift of his Son Jesus, the Savior of the world. The gospel of John tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (3:16). Because God loves us, he gives us his Son. It’s a free gift. An undeserved gift. A gift that carries with it the unconditional love of God.
Grace is sometimes defined as the gift of God’s own self. And that definition certainly fits God’s generosity at Christmas, when he gives us the gift of his Son. This is a present that brings God right into the heart of human life. It’s a gift that saves us, and connects us to our Lord for all eternity. It’s a gift of God’s own self. A gift of grace.
So let’s keep an image of Saint Nicholas in the center of our own Christmas experiences. He points us to the gift of the Christ child, and gives us a model for generous and compassionate Christian service.
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Sources:
Vick, Karl. “Turkish town exchanges St. Nick for Santa: Local hero’s statue moved from square,” The Washington Post, March 24, 2005, A1.
“Who is St. Nicholas?” St. Nicholas Center Web Site, stnicholascenter.org. Retrieved May 12, 2005.