The Truth about Santa

The children come running down the stairs and rush to the presents galore under the Christmas tree!  The mad frenzy to see what they are getting begins the mayhem, as wrapping paper is thrown around the room, beyond anything they could ever imagine...Santa arrived sometime in the night to bring all these amazing...

WAIT....STOP!!!!

I don't think so...not in our house!

Today is the celebration of a man from the 4th century who lived a devout life as Bishop of Myra (in Asia Minor) during a  time of persecution.  Not only did he lead those around him in their faith by his example of piety, but also great miracles took place around him.  At one time he was imprisoned for the faith, and he gave a great confession before the magistrate of Dioletian.  One other point of interest is his defending the faith at the Council of Nicea against the Arian heresey (the belief that Jesus in not equal to the Father).

So, why is he associated with children and gift giving?  It is believed that he would help the poor by providing for their needs (he was from a wealthy family and he was determined to use his wealth for this good).  One such story is about a man who lost his wealth and could not afford to pay the dowry for his three daughters.  He planned to sell his daughters into slavery.  When the time came for each daughter to wed, Nicholas went to their home at night to place a bag of gold in the window  to cover their needs.  And so, his kindness for children and gift-giving comes from these activities.

The main lesson we teach our children regarding St. Nicholas is his desire to perform acts of charity and mercy in secret.  No one knew that St. Nicholas did these things for the poor because St. Nicholas boasted about his deeds.  Instead, those who he helped discovered his deeds by trying to find out how they were being blessed.  The man with the daughters watched out the window to see gift giver.  Whether this is truth or legend...the idea is valid...we do not need to be praised for all our good deeds.

Another lesson we add to this day has evolved from making sense of our secular version of Santa.  When we first started our transition to bring Christ into our season, we were not sure what to do about Santa Claus.  I really never cared for the greedy and selfish trend of this side of Christmas, but giving to others has its merits.  I will speak more on this later in the season, but I think it is important to mention that some secular traditions do have religious background and can have meaning for us to grow closer to God.  It is how we present the ideas that make the difference.  For instance, we do not give gifts because society tells us we need to do this.  We try to think of others before ourselves in our gift giving.

On the morning of the feast of  St. Nicholas, the stockings hung the night before are filled with small gifts.  Usually these gifts are not toys but something of use. The gift is a way to keep with the idea that St. Nicholas wanted to help the one gifted, but it also is a way to bring excitement in the opening of the stocking (we are talking about children after all!)  There is also candy and fruit in the stocking.  The candy is placed in the stocking to remind us of the sweetness of heaven.  The fruit reminds us that in God's word we are nourished in our spiritual life.

There is also a personal note from St. Nicholas.  To me, this is the most important part of the morning.  It brings the shift in the season inward.  The notes tell the child (and adult) what they do that is pleasing to God and then ways they can change to grow closer to God.  A lot of thought and prayer is put into these notes.  When they are read, the individual is expected to reflect on the meaning and find ways to make changes.  The remaining days of Advent are spent deciding how to make these changes a reality.  In many ways, we do this with little thought and call them New Year's resolutions!

We had a lot of wonderful Scripture lessons today and all of these lessons tied together so nicely.  I could not have planned it had I tried!  I love it when God works that way!

First we woke up to our Bible devotion which was from Matthew 7:21-27....the parable of the house built on firm ground (Jesus is the rock!) versus the house built on the sand (shifting life of sin!).  Where is the truth in our lives?  We can only find truth in the stability of Jesus.  It is not enough to say we believe...our actions must be rooted in the belief of Jesus and then dispersed to others around us.

We then continued our nativity scene with the placement of the manger.  That we might fix the best and warmest corner of our hearts for the manger of Jesus...we should try to abstain from what we like most...and ask Mary to use these sacrifices to prepare a soft bed for Jesus. Amen.  In this way we remove the need for worldly attachments that take us away from Jesus (the Rock!).

Our Jesse Tree ornaments (still doubling up to get caught up!) continue to show God's providence in preparing for Jesus.  The ram from Genesis 22:11-12 that God provided for a sacrifice because Abraham was willing to give his only son.  This is the first real glimpse at what would be needed for the ultimate sacrifice that would wipe away all sin for those who believed.  The second ornament was a ladder to represent the dream of Jacob in Genesis 28:12-15.  This ladder would show that God wished to reunite earth to the divine.  The only way this is possible is through a mediator...Jesus!

Now here is where I am so amazed by our Bible lessons of the day.  We were heading to our 4H meeting tonight without a clue that we would be blessed with a youth pastor who would take the message stated in the last paragraph and take it to the next level.  To read about that experience, you will need to check out my other blog!

We then came home in time for bed (thank goodness!).  We had just re-read the Bible Scripture from the morning (Had I mentioned that we begin and end our day with the same Bible verses?  Well...we do!)  Brendan was so sweet...he must have missed it this morning ... or maybe he had been thinking about it all day..but after we read about the wise man building his house on the rock, he ran over to get a book off the shelf and came back and said..."This man was the wise man in that story!"  The book he brought to me was about King Solomon!  WOW!  I was surprised...and so pleased to see he had made that connection.  It made my day and I needed the assurance that all of these Advent activities made sense...Leave it to God to send the youngest of the boys to show me that it was all good!  Praise God for that boost of inspiration to continue.

We headed up to the quiet of their bedroom to be able to focus a little more on the message we are to find in Jesus of Nazareth.  Tonight our focus continued to be on the annunciation of John the Baptist.  The link between John and Old Testament prophecy led us to Malachi and Daniel tonight.  In the third chapter of Malachi, we learn that Elijah must come to herald the coming of the Messiah.  John the Baptist takes on this role as prophet at the ultimate level beyond that of all other prophets of old.

Then we turn to Daniel 9:21 and see that it is the angel Gabriel who will announce the destiny of the chosen people at the evening sacrifice.  Then Gabriel is the one who greets Zachariah in the Temple during the evening sacrifice to announce the birth of John the Baptist.   In the Old Testament account, Gabriel explains the need for everlasting righteousness.  In the New Testament,   Gabriel shows that John would be the one to show that the prophesied everlasting righteousness is being fulfilled.  Really this so deep and so glad I have the joy of reading this and slowly digesting the meaning.

Zaira with her first teether thanks to St Nicholas 

Tonight I had that opportunity as I sat on Brendan's bed waiting for him to finally drift to sleep.  My thoughts continued to reflect on the amazing reality that God would plan so far in advance for all of this to come together at just the right moment in time at just the right place.  We take for granted that God is all-knowing and beyond all time....but then to take it further into our own time.  God cares no less for us today...He has planned for our time as well and we each are here at just the right time at just the right place!  It makes me so thankful for my life and how I am to live it for God's glory.  God is so good!  

SIDE NOTE...Many people have fallen into the Elf frenzy with the Elf on a Shelf book.  I was so happy to see an alternative that brings the Advent themes into effect.  Thanks to my dear blogger friend for creating the Advent Angel idea!  I am sure I will try to incorporate this idea in some way next year.

Also, normally we have a wonderful St. Nicholas Soup for dinner, but because of our evening activities we were not at home to enjoy....I did want to share unless anyone was keeping track of activities for next year.