I’m thawing out after an hour or so at the late night shopping and the switching on of the lights in Boroughbridge. My late beloved pastoral tutor in college taught us to be seen, so I like to mooch about at events in my patch that aren’t church but which church should be in the middle of. It was lovely to see the town out together and enjoying themselves. Christmas brings communities together —- for a while. Though I have to say Boroughbridge are very good at being community not just at Christmas. This is my fourth December here and it was good to be recognised as part of the community just wandering about.
I’m very conscious though tonight the world is not together. We’ve had the former Prime Minister at the Covid enquiry today and a lot of heartache has been stirred up again in people who lost loved ones in that terrible time, we’ve had the former Home Secretary push for tighter immigration rules and the Rwanda thing is about again, we see Israel and Gaza and Ukraine and Russia and other conflicts go on relentlessly. Perhaps Christmas celebrations are a defiance against the polarisation of people we see all around us. Discuss!
Today is the 6 December, St Nicholas Day. St Nicholas is the example in church history of giving and generosity. He said “ the giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic his giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.” We need that generosity of spirit and commitment to watch out for one another every day not just when it’s frothy and nice! So today where you find togetherness and deep sharing celebrate it. And where there is bitterness and hatred and hurt from past wrongs, pray for the healing power of God to give peace.
I like Peterborough Cathedral’s blog on him:
It’s time to share the good news. Santa does exist after all! It’s St Nicholas Day and as we celebrate the life of Nicholas, the fourth century Bishop of Myra in what is now, southern Turkey, we find ourselves encountering a figure whose generosity and compassion for the poor, lie at the heart of the tradition of secret Christmas gift-giving that we now associate with Father Christmas, or Santa Claus (from the Dutch Sinterklaas).
The evolution of the story of St Nicholas is a remarkable one. The stories began with the saintly Bishop seeking to ensure one of the poor members of his flock did not have to sell his three daughters into slavery (in effect prostitution) for lack of dowry to enable them to marry. He came at night, leaving gifts of money to meet their needs, and the rest really is history. Many other legends sprang up in the middle-ages around Nicholas, stilling storms, feeding the hungry, until he became an almost Christ-like figure, but the core narrative of his care and compassion for children remains. Different cultures have celebrated his memory in different ways, but it was in 19th century America that the figure we now tend to know and love emerged with stories such as The Night before Christmas with jolly ‘St Nick’ and his reindeer becoming a classic rendering of the tale.
His cope and mitre may have become fur-trimmed red robes, but St Nicholas really is one of the saints of God who should inspire us to compassion and generosity, especially to children and those who have nothing.
Mind you, St Nicholas got riled. This picture has been doing the rounds!
Legend has it "Saint" Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (who is said to be the inspiration for Santa Claus), struck Arius the heretic for denying the eternality of Christ and triune nature of God during his speech at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. And the caption under the picture was Deck not just the halls - deck the heretic!!
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