But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:7-13)
Nicholas of Myra was a bishop of the church in the fourth century. Myra was in what is now modern Turkey. He was a wealthy man with a lot of influence.
The story is told of a poor man with three daughters. His first daughter fell in love but he had no dowry to give her. This meant that she had to take a lesser husband, one who was able to ignore the shame of not having, like Maureen O’Hara called it in the movie Quiet Man, her fortune. The daughter and the man she wanted to marry were understandably grief-stricken.
As hard as it is for us to imagine in our culture today, this was of major import in that culture. Without her dowry, she was basically and bluntly sold. Her fortune gave her the ability to come into the marriage on a financially equal basis. Without it, she was without honor.
Nicholas came in the middle of the night and placed a bag of gold coins through the window of their house. The next morning, the man found them and the daughter was given the ability to choose her husband. But the father nor the daughter knew who had done it.
The same thing happened with the second daughter and the results were the same. Nicholas anonymously gave the money. The daughter married as she wanted.
The problem was that it drove the guy crazy wondering who had given that money. So when the third daughter came to marriage age, he went around and proclaimed his inability to pay a dowry, then waited to see what would happen. As Nicholas came by to give him the money, he saw who it was. Nicholas had wanted to remain anonymous but it was not to be. The man told everyone.
Nicholas was a man who was known for his generosity and this kind of set him free to practice that generosity in public.
From him came Saint Nick, or Santa Claus.
Giving gifts is a good thing and one which God approves. He, after all, is the Chief Gift-Giver. He gave his Son to us. He gives us salvation and holiness, righteousness and goodness – just for the asking.
Santa Claus is real, yes. But not like the commercial world says. The real Nicholas would not approve of the greed and absolute grasping for stuff that has come to characterize Christmas.
Not sure what to do about it, but I refuse to buy into it. I want to be like Nicholas and give what I have out of love.
That is the real spirit of the season – This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers (1 John 3:16). That is real giving.
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