You will recall the command given by our Lord Jesus Christ to the rich young man in last Sunday’s reading from the Gospel of St. Luke: Go, sell all you have, and give it to the poor. Among other things, this command was obeyed by the saint we venerate today: Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia. From an early age, he was given to a life of prayer and fasting; and, when his parents died, and he received his inheritance, the young priest-monk sold all that he had, and gave it to the poor.
Everybody knows that it is St. Nicholas who has been transformed in his journey across time to the West into “Santa Claus”; the secular symbol for Christmas, the icon of the consumer culture. Many people know part of his story, and how he came to be associated with the anonymous giving of gifts, as is part of the Santa Claus/St. Nick/Kris Kringle image; when he delivered three young women from being sold into prostitution because their family had lost its wealth and fallen into extreme poverty. On three separate nights, the saint threw a bag of gold through a window; and the father used the gold as a dowry for each daughter in turn, arranging a Christian marriage for each, and so providing for his daughters, rather than turning his home into a brothel where they would be sold into depravity, and their father with them, because of his actions. It’s not so far from these bags of gold tossed through windows to a sack of toys brought down a chimney, is it?
Many people also know the story of how the saint struck the heretic, Arius, in the face during the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.; and that he was stripped of his episcopal rank as a result, and put into jail for this deed; and how many of the bishops that night had a vision of St. Nicholas with our Lord bearing a golden book of the Gospels to one side of the saint, and the blessed Lady Theotokos with his omophorion on the other side. This led the bishops to restore St. Nicholas to his rank and place at the Council.
St. Nicholas was also known to be a helper of travelers, and especially of those traveling on the sea. He calmed storms, delivered many from shipwreck, even raised from the dead a sailor who had fallen from the rigging to his death on the deck of a ship. He destroyed the pagan temples in his city, tearing them down to the ground, and even removing their foundation stones. He saved from execution many who were innocent; healed many, both while alive, and, after his repose, by the sweet-smelling myrrh that flowed from his relics. Many icons of St. Nicholas are myrrh-streaming; and people continue to be healed when anointed, even in this day and age. He helped many in poverty, feeding the hungry, and housing the homeless. He gave richly and freely; and never lacked in his ability to provide help for all who turn to him in need, as God richly supplies His saint.
You know, we could do worse than to take St. Nicholas as an example of how we should live our lives. But what a standard he sets! When was the last time you delivered someone from a life of depravity? Or saved a ship from a storm at sea? When was the last time you tore down a pagan temple? Or punched a heretic in the nose?
Let’s be sure we understand these things. Each has both a literal meaning, and a spiritual meaning; and both meanings are applicable, in one way or another, in our daily lives. Well, OK, maybe not literally tearing down a pagan temple! But we can certainly confront the pagan attitudes that have their temples in our hearts and minds – the things we do that support us in our sins, making us a law unto ourselves, as if we could somehow be exempt from being obedient, and accountable, to God’s law. Certainly, the temple in which we worship ourselves needs to be torn down, a St. Nicholas did in Myra.
Come to think of it, you also need to be careful about taking literally St. Nicholas’ example of having punched Arius in the nose! Going that far is definitely not recommended! But that doesn’t mean we should be silent in the face of false teaching or practices. We need to speak up about the truth – gently, respectfully – but being heard, regardless. We must be zealous for the truth; and we must also know the Truth, and be able to state clearly what we believe. As such, we should devote ourselves to studying the Scriptures and the teachings of the Fathers and the lives of the saints. It also means that we must stop deceiving ourselves about how we are living, and what we are doing. It’s all too easy for us to excuse ourselves for our offenses. We need to hold ourselves accountable.
As St. Nicholas was a help to those who were traveling, so, too, can we be of help. Sometimes, it means doing something for someone else – perhaps they have a flat tire, or some other mechanical problem on the roadway. I was blessed with someone’s help this week. Sometimes, it means opening your home to someone who needs a place to stay, as some of you have done, or are willing to do, for people who want to come to our church from some distance away. There is also the reality that each of us needs help on our spiritual journeys – and that’s one of the reasons we’re gathered here in the church; where we come to praise and worship God, and to love and care for each other.
We’ve probably not literally had the opportunity to save someone from falling into a depraved or degraded life, as St. Nicholas delivered the three virgins from a life of prostitution – but there are ministries that reach out to people who have fallen into such circumstances, and the opportunity to be of help may come your way – you may even seek out those who work to deliver such unfortunates, or the homeless, or those addicted to drugs or alcohol. We also need to be aware of the opportunity to deliver ourselves from temptations to lust, or greed, or envy, or the other forms of sin and the passions which defile and degrade the image of God in us.
Brothers and sisters: Blessed is our God, Who is made wondrous in His saints! None of us may ever reach the heights that St. Nicholas attained, although that should not stop us from making the effort to do so! But each of us can reach for a portion of his holy life, and to be like him, in the world, and in our spiritual lives. Through the prayers of our holy father and hierarch, Nicholas, O Savior, save us.
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