CHRISTMAS FOR DUMMIES—Jolly Old St. Nicholas
By Roger Pryor, Heartland Community Church

The song "Jolly Old St Nicholas" truly reflects the Christmas attitudes of compassion and generosity. It’s seeing in others the face of Jesus, especially the poor, hurting, and struggling, and showing them compassion and generosity without expecting something in return.

The question of the "real Santa" is one that has been studied and debated for years. According to a recent report, some have concluded that Santa, in spite of tradition, is probably a woman and not a man. One investigator writes, "I hate to be the one to defy sacred myth, but I believe that he is a she." Five reasons are given for "he being a she":

1. There’s no way a guy could pull off a warm, fuzzy, nurturing, social event like Christmas—all by himself.
2. A male Santa would definitely get lost in a snowstorm and refuse to stop and ask for directions. A woman would never do that.
3. No guy would be caught dead in a red velvet suit.
4. Hanging out with elves is probably too threatening to a guy's masculinity.
5. If Santa was a "he," all the reindeer would be dead, gutted and strapped to the bumper of his sleigh.

I’ll let you decide on Santa’s gender, but what I can tell you is that the Santa we have all come to know and love was inspired by the real-life figure of a fourth-century pastor named Nicholas. I confess I knew little about him until I started reading about him recently.

I would have to agree with another pastor who said, "I was moved by his [St. Nicholas'] story. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the example of St. Nicholas is transforming the way that I look at Christmas and how I want to celebrate it." So what is it about this guy?

Nicholas lived so long ago that the historical records are sketchy. As a result, it's difficult to determine what of his story is real and what is legendary. But we shouldn’t let that deter us from investigating this famous man who encapsulates the true attitudes of Christmas. Let me take a few minutes to unpack his story from several resources I studied this week.

He was born into a wealthy family around A.D. 270. While he was still a young child, a plague struck the town where he lived and both of his parents died, so orphaned Nicholas went to live with his uncle who was a monk in a monastery. As he learned more about Jesus from the Bible, Nicholas decided that he, too, wanted to become a monk when he grew up.

However, there was a slight problem. Monks were supposed to be poor, but Nicholas had inherited the family fortune! So he resolved to give away all of his money to help those who were needy and especially children in trouble. And he determined to do it in an anonymous way, in keeping with the teaching of Jesus, who said in Matthew 6:1–4, "'Take care! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give a gift to someone in need, don't shout about it as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone, don't tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.""

The most famous Nicholas story that displayed these giving principles of Jesus and helped shape some of our Christmas traditions is the one where three young girls couldn’t get married because their father had squandered their dowries. (In those days, a girl was required to have a large dowry if she wanted to marry.) Without dowries, one of the sisters considered selling herself into slavery so that the other two sisters could have dowries for marriage. The only other option was for all three to become prostitutes.

Apparently, young Nicholas heard of this family predicament, so late one night he secretly tossed a stocking or sock of gold coins through the family window. The oldest daughter’s honor was reclaimed and she was able to marry. Later on, Nicholas did the same for the second daughter and she married. When Nicholas approached the house a third time to toss a sock of gold coins through the window, the windows were shut. According to tradition, he climbed up on their roof and dropped the coins down the chimney.

Little did Nicholas know, but the father had set a burglar alarm of bells on a string. As Nicholas snuck away, he tripped the alarm. The father awoke and chased down this unknown benefactor. When he caught up with Nicholas, Nicholas begged him not to tell anyone, but the story of Nicholas’ generosity spread like a one-half-off sale at Best Buy.

Let me do a fast-forward on his life. As Nicholas grew in his relationship with God, he left the monastery at the age of 17 and was ordained a pastor. He later was ordained the Bishop of Myra. When Roman emperor Diocletian ordered the brutal persecution of all Christians in 303 A.D., Nicholas and thousands of other church leaders and Christians were imprisoned or killed.

Ten years later, when Constantine became emperor of Rome, he made Christianity the favored religion of the empire, ending the persecution and Bishop Nicholas’ imprisonment. Nicholas continued to give away his inheritance to hurting people until his death on Dec. 6, A.D. 342.

After he died, the town’s people carried on his generosity by secretly giving to meet the needs of the less fortunate. And when people asked where the gifts came from, the standard answer was: "Saint Nicholas must have brought them!" That’s the story of St. Nicholas—an orphaned boy who became a pastor and then a bishop—who gave away all his wealth to the poor and especially to children in need and who stood tall for Jesus in the midst of persecution.

Since that time, St. Nick has gone through a huge metamorphous, wouldn’t you say?—from fourth-century pastor to North Pole dwelling Santa with his elves. There are books and websites that trace this metamorphous if you want to find out more. Sadly, the story of Nicolas has been buried under the pile of consumerism and Christmas hype. But did you notice how the story of the three sisters has become a part of our Christmas traditions? Gift giving is reminiscent of the gifts for the dowries and the gifts of the Magi. Foil-covered chocolate coins in stockings are reminiscent of the socks full of gold, some of which fell down the chimney to save the three sisters.

The story of St. Nick is fascinating, but it’s his lifestyle the impresses me the most. He was a generous man who gave to those who didn’t honor him or give him anything in return. It’s why he’s been a legend for over 1700 years. Jesus’ words in Luke 6:32–36 reflect the character of Jesus lived out in St. Nicholas. "'Do you think you deserve credit merely for loving those who love you? Even the sinners do that! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, is that so wonderful? Even sinners do that much! Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don't be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.'"

St. Nick acted like a child of the Most High. He used his life and resources to bless those who couldn’t bless him back—who couldn’t repay him—who didn’t deserve it. His life has challenged me this week and forced me to think about the way I do Christmas. So here’s what I’m wrestling with: At Christmas, I spend most of my time, effort and money on pleasing those around me who already love me and will show their love by giving me something in return.

I’m starting to sound like a grinch, but what are we really doing at Christmas? We’re swapping gifts. I buy you something. You buy me something. This isn’t what Christmas is supposed to be. (It’s you buy me something, but I don’t buy you anything! Ha!) Christmas is all about God’s gift of a Savior to someone like me who doesn’t deserve it. So why has my focus been on giving to the deserving who will return the favor? (Because I want something.) No wonder Christmas feels empty and looks so ridiculous. One person said, "The Christmas season has come to mean the time period when the public plays Santa Claus to the merchants."

As a child of the Most High, Jesus asks me to secretly do good to people who don’t deserve it; who can’t earn it; who can’t repay it; who might be considered my enemies; and do it in the spirit of St. Nicholas at Christmas time with compassion and generosity. There is a scene out of Tim Allen’s The Santa Clause that illustrates what I’m thinking. Scott, the Santa dad, says, "The only kid I’m thinking about is you." Charlie, the son, says, "Think of all those kids…you can’t let them down…" (It is really about others more than me.) That’s what I’m wrestling with—making Christmas more about others and less about me. I wonder what it would be like to spend 60 percent on others and 40 percent on family. Should it be 95 percent on others and 5 percent on family? What if I decided to act more like St. Nicholas or more importantly—like Christ? I wonder what it would look like to live out my Christmas traditions as a child of the Most High.

How would it affect my gift giving? What difference would it make in others and me?

So what can we do to live out Jesus’ principles and even model the example of St. Nicholas? I came across an article this week that offers some suggestions to parents for living out a spirit of compassion and generosity with their kids. Here’s my summary: 1. Tell stories about how St. Nicholas modeled the giving character of Jesus. 2. Help your kids focus more on "helping" St. Nicholas rather than on "getting" something from him. Instead of focusing so much time on helping your kids make out their lists for Santa, how about challenging them to clean out their closets of toys or clothes they’ve outgrown or grown tired of and pass them on to children who would enjoy them. By the way, we adults have our toys and clothes as well.

3. Give anonymously and secretly to those in need as St. Nicholas did. Follow the giving example of Jesus and choose a mission like Home Sweet Home or the Jesus House or some worthy charity to support. Adopt a child through World Vision to support monthly. There may be someone you know who has needs that you can help meet by symbolically tossing a sock of money through their window.

4. Offer the gift of grace to someone who has wounded or offended you. Choose not to get or even to seek revenge or to seek justice that you deserve. As Jesus said, "Love your enemies! Do good to them!" It may be the most significant gift you give this Christmas.

In simple terms, when a person asks you, "What does Santa have to do with Jesus?" you can answer: Santa—in his original incarnation—was a committed and compassionate follower of Jesus. He modeled for us, in a way that has become legendary, what it means for God to love us when we don’t know him and can’t repay him. And he modeled what it means to love unconditionally as children of the Most High.

And because Nicholas did this so well, he was honored by having a prayer named after him. This is the Prayer of St. Nicholas:

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, enkindle in your church the never-failing gift of charity, that, following the example of your servant Nicholas of Myra, we may have grace to deal in generosity and love with children and with all who are poor and distressed, and to uphold the cause of those who have no helper; for the sake of him who gave his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.