St. Nicholas

December 6 is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, legendary 4th Century Bishop of Myra. His story developed into the legend of Santa Claus. 

Today, December 6,  is St. Nicholas' Day. 

I believe that St. Nicholas, 

  and his modern counterpart, Santa Claus, 

    can bring us hope in the midst of the chaos 

      that is inundating us 

        these days. 

Nicholas was a bishop of the early Christian church, 

  serving in the Greek speaking maritime town 

    of Myra, on the coast of what is now Turkey. 

His lifetime bridged the years around Constantine's 

  Edict of Milan, which made Christianity legal: 

    St. Nicholas was born on March 15 of 270 CE, 

      and he died on December 6 of 343 CE. 

Saints' Days are normally set 

  on the date of their death, 

    since their death is thought to be 

      their birth in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Hence St. Nicholas' Day is December 6, 

  the anniversary of his death. 

Constantine's Edict of Milan was proclaimed 

  in February of 313, near the middle of 

    the life of St. Nicholas. 

Prior to the Edict, 

  Christianity was an illegal religion, 

    and people could be, and were, punished severely, 

      as was Nicholas himself, 

        if they refused to renounce their Christian faith. 

After the Edict, after 313, 

  Christianity became a tolerated religion, 

    and Christians were no longer persecuted 

      for their faith. 

As I said, Nicholas himself 

  was imprisoned for a time 

    because he refused to recant his Christian faith. 

To this day, St. Nicholas 

  even in the form of  Santa Claus, 

    is portrayed with red cheeks 

      because of the abuse he received 

        during his imprisonment for his faith. 

People all over the world 

  are being persecuted for their faith to this day 

    by authoritarian governments 

      like that of ancient Rome. 

If we are willing to let it be so, 

  the appearance of Santa Claus 

    with his red cheeks 

      can remind us  

        of the importance 

          of our acceptance of each other 

            despite our different faith commitments. 

We as UU's can be especially sensitive 

  to the importance of this kind of mutual acceptance 

    because of the centuries 

      during which UU's have experienced 

        different kinds of prejudice against our faith

          as well as terrible persecution at times. 

So St. Nicholas or Santa Claus 

  can have special meaning for us as UU's 

    whatever the wider culture may think about him. 

Different cultures have their own customs 

  for the celebration and remembrance 

    of St. Nicholas. 

For instance, there has long been a tradition 

  of children putting out their shoes 

    in the hope that St. Nicholas 

      will leave treats for them. 

He is often said to leave small gifts 

  in stockings or wooden shoes, 

    especially on December 6, 

      not only on December 24 or 25.  

This custom actually has roots in the legend 

  of Bishop Nicholas himself. 

In ancient times, a hearth 

  was almost like a small room. 

There was space for a fire and a chimney above. 

There would be room to hang small clothing items 

  to dry in the warmth of the fire. 

The story is told that 

  Nicholas was known to climb onto the roofs 

    of people in his diocese 

      and drop small gifts - or gold coins if needed - 

        into stockings that had been hung 

          in the hearth to dry. 

In one particular case, 

  three young girls in a family 

    were about to be sold into slavery

      to pay off the family's debts. 

The Bishop heard of it, 

  and on Christmas Eve, 

    he climbed up onto the family's roof 

      in his bishop's red robes and hat 

        and dropped bags of gold 

          into the girls' stockings 

            that had been hung up in the hearth to dry. 

The picture of Bishop Nicholas in his red robes 

  dropping gold into stockings in the family's hearth, 

    through the chimney, no less, 

      as a Christmas gift to a family that really needed it 

        became iconic and legendary, 

          and it has remained across many centuries 

            to give birth to an even more widespread icon 

              of our own culture today, 

                Santa Claus himself. 

The story gives us a lovely picture 

  of the way St. Nicholas got into the business 

    of putting special gifts into stockings 

      and the way he was ultimately transformed 

        into Santa Claus,

          a way to pronounce St. Nicholas,

            maybe a young child's way of trying to say it. 

So what does this mean to us today? 

I feel that my mother gave me a hint. 

As children will do, 

  and as I've told the story before, 

    I informed her that I knew 

      that Santa Claus could not possibly deliver gifts 

        to all the children of the world in a single night. 

I was letting her know 

  that I no longer believed in Santa Claus. 

She then informed me that Santa Claus 

  is the spirit of giving, 

    and that was something 

      that I could not argue with, 

        and I still can't argue with it! 

The bottom line for me 

  is that I still believe in Santa Claus. 

I do believe that St. Nicholas, 

  as legendary as he may be, 

    was a real bishop in a real time and place, 

      complete with red cheeks 

        and with red robes and cap. 

I also believe that the icon of our culture, 

  Santa Claus, is a symbol based on the bishop, 

    who serves us well as the spirit of giving. 

As I often like to emphasize, 

  spirit is breath. 

When we breathe in, we take in life, 

  and when we breathe out, 

    we let out the stuff of life 

      for other kinds of creatures. 

Oxygen enables us to utilize energy, 

  and so we take in life as we breathe in oxygen. 

The carbon dioxide that we breathe out 

  enables plants to produce energy 

    in the form of food 

      for themselves and for animals, 

        in effect for all living things. 

One could say that plants of many kinds 

  are the original spirits of giving 

    as they breathe in the carbon dioxide from us 

      and from all kinds of animals 

        and breathe out the oxygen that we all need. 

In any case, 

  as we breathe, as we process oxygen,

    we enable the thoughts of our hearts and minds. 

Spirit, that is, breath, enables thought. 

As we think, 

  we can also focus our thoughts on giving. 

Especially at this time of year, 

  as we approach the Holy Days of light and giving, 

    we all need the spirit of giving 

      to remind us of our need of each other. 

Especially in these strange times, 

  we can see ourselves as sources of hope and life 

    for each other. 

We share what we have 

  with those less fortunate than ourselves 

    and we follow the example of St. Nicholas. 

In so doing, the spirit of giving, 

  Santa Claus, 

    and the breath that calls us to share life, 

      renews our opportunities to participate 

        in the ancient and noble rituals 

          of sharing the wealth. 

I have high hopes that we are heading into 

  an era of great altruism. 

There are great evolutionary advantages 

  to the practice of altruism 

    among many species. 

Our own survival 

  on our small, beautiful spaceship Earth

    may well depend upon it. 

There are signs of a new beginning coming, 

  in the Heavens 

    with the solstice and a planetary conjunction, 

      and on Earth 

        with the inauguration of a new U.S. President. 

We all desperately need some new beginnings, 

  especially of good things. 

A new birth of mutual care, generosity, 

  and altruism 

    will go a long way toward bring us hope 

      just when we need it most. 

I'll be thinking and speaking of the new beginnings 

  a great deal in the weeks to come. 

Stay tuned, or, as Rachel Maddow says, 

  "Watch this space!" 

Amen. 

So Let It Be.