For Unto St. Nicholas A Child Was Born
In the name of Jesus: Amen.
Tonight
is the night that Santa Claus comes to town.
Vixen
and Blitzen and all his reindeer are pulling on the reins.
Bells
are ringing; children are singing.
He’s
got a bag that is filled with toys, for boys and girls.
Hear
those sleigh bells, jump into bed, and cover up your head, because Santa Claus
comes tonight.
He
comes tonight to deliver gifts to boys and girls.
Considering
all this, tonight I would like us to consider ‘another’ man that gave gifts to
boys and girls as well. This other man’s
name is kind of like the name Santa Claus, but slightly different. His name is Nikolas of Myra; or St. Nicholas
for short.
St.
Nicholas was born 1,700 years ago in what we now know as modern day
Turkey. This ancient St. Nicholas was
given a large inheritance when his parents passed away and then he used this
inheritance to help the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving,
such as putting coins in people’s shoes.
He took care of the poor widows and the orphans in his city. If the poor and suffering did not have shoes,
he would bring them shoes. If they did
not have a blanket, he would bring them a blanket. If they did not have food, he would bring
them food. Furthermore, as a pastor and
a bishop, St. Nicholas took care of other pastors by helping them teach the bible
correctly, even at times getting physically angry at heretics who perverted the
truth of God’s Word.
Besides
giving gifts and caring for pastors, St. Nicholas experienced ruthless
persecution for the Christian faith. One
day he was seized by the local magistrates, tortured, then chained and thrown
into prison with many other Christians for his bold confession of the Christian
faith.
After
his release from prison, St. Nicholas continued his care of those in need and
continued to teach the bible faithfully.
He even helped write something called, the Nicene Creed.
What
made this ancient St. Nicholas so profound is that he “didn't care much whether
children were naughty or nice. He knew that children are both naughty and nice
at the same time. So are adults. He also knew that Jesus died for everyone, the
naughty and the nice, and that both naughty and nice people need Jesus. St.
Nicholas wanted everyone to know that. He didn't keep any kind of list that he
checked over twice, except maybe a list of all the people in his [church] who
needed help. He was careful about making sure that people knew how much God
loved them by showing them his love. If you looked at St. Nicholas and saw how
much he loved other people, you could see the love of Jesus shining through
him.”[1]
You
see, St. Nicholas loved Jesus and He knew that he was loved by Jesus. The reason why? He knew that Jesus became poor so that we
might be rich. He knew that Jesus came
to rescue those who suffered wrong. He
knew that Jesus came to help the poor and needy and to bid the weak to be
strong in Him. He knew that Jesus came
to give songs for sighing; to turn darkness to light; and to turn condemnation
to forgiveness.[2]
Indeed,
St. Nicholas “preached God’s Word and celebrated the Lord's Supper with his
congregation. He preached sermons about Jesus . . . He told people how God sent His Son to be
born of the Virgin Mary, how he suffered for our sins under Pontius Pilate, how
he died on a cross and was buried to save everyone from death and hell, how He
rose from the dead three days later and now reigns as our King, and how Jesus
is going to appear very soon to take us to live with Him forever.”[3]
Tonight,
I share this with you not as a mere Christmas history lesson, but I share it
with you because if St. Nicholas were alive with us right now, he would want
you and I to remember this Christmas Eve, God’s gift of His Son, Jesus. In other words, St. Nicholas would not want
you to remember him and his legacy of giving gifts, but would want you and me
to know the ultimate gift, the Savior that was born that Christmas Eve long ago
- Christ Jesus the Lord.
You
see Christmas is a rather simple message.
It is a message that has a number of beautiful aspects. But most importantly it is about a grand gift. It is about a gift that has been given to
you, not from St. Nicholas or Santa Claus or from parents or from loved ones,
but from God. It is about how Jesus was
sent and then stepped into this world, left the glory of heaven, and humbled
Himself, all so that He might travel to the cross for you and for me. The very purpose of Christmas is that Christ
was born for you as gift; He was born to die for you as gift. This means that the Lord is for you and for
me and for St. Nicholas as well.
Tonight
through the testimony of St. Nicholas of Myra and through the Word of God
spoken in this service, we hear that Jesus is the one given to you and to me as
sheer gift. Thus, as we receive gifts from our loved ones and as we receive
gifts tomorrow from Santa Claus, we receive tonight from the Lord’s Word that
Christ has been born - born unto you as a Savior. Indeed, the one who loves you, joined Himself
to you, died for you, and rose for you, comes as complete gift – nothing held
back – all for you.
Merry
Christmas to you in the name of the one who was born unto you, Christ Jesus the
Lord: Amen.
[2] James Montgomery, Hail to the Lord’s Anointed: Lutheran
Service Book (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 398.
[3] William Cwirla, Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus.
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