"Do you know where St. Nicholas was born?" Elise asked from the other room.
I was reading the tailend of a New Yorker article, but had no trouble giving my answer.
"Turkey."
Wyatt guessed Finland.
"You're right, dad," Elise said.
Although, to be totally accurate, I should have said somewhere near Myra, a provincial capital in Asia Minor in the fourth century.
We don't know much about St. Nick, not much of the real details about his life and ministry. Mostly what we have now is the stuff of legend, the things that floated their way up through the years from the land of the Mediterrenean all the way up to the North Pole.
St. Nicholas was most famous for engaging in pivotal debates about the true nature of Jesus, but that's not the stuff that has won him fame through the years. The stuff that has hung on and grown over years are the things he did for the young and for the vulnerable.
Three daughters were facing the prospect of a life of forced sexual slavery, their father unable to adequately provide for them financially. In a story reminiscent of the autrocities of the Book of Judges and of impoverished parts of our modern world, it was the young women who would bear the brunt of a failure. Alas, St. Nick stepped forward under the cover of night and deposited three bags of coins in the girl's window, thus saving them from a life of prostitution.
Again, another harsh story. Three little boys stumbled across the path of an evil maniac who murdered each of them, leaving them dead in the street. But, who should appear? Not the eight tiny reindeer. But, thankfully, St. Nicholas, who restored them each to life.
If the original stories (legends really) surrounding St. Nicholas seem harsh to us today, maybe this too is needed. A follow-up to yesterday's jolting news about Jesus. For if St. Nicholas is anything when it comes to the giving of gifts, he is an agent of justice, a vigilante of sorts. He is especially mindful of the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable.
Every year at Christmas, our cultural attention turns to St. Nick again. St. Nicholas will bring us everything we are hoping for and desire, everything from a new Mercedes Benz to fine jewelry. But, if you really want to see the spirit of St. Nicholas, I say look at someone like Ruth Myers and the people like her in our community.
Ruth is doing some amazing work here in Greencastle and has been for years. She's started up a wonderful ministry called Phil the Need that provides for the kids and young people right here in our town. And every Christmas she helps steer the Giving Tree mission, a way for local school kids to get some gifts who otherwise might not.
We sponsor the Giving Tree each year. Carolyn McKee and others in the past gather some 3x5 cards with a child's age and wish list of items on each card. We put them out in our narthex around this time of year, on a table where we can take a card or two and go shopping at Walmart for a gift.
This year, I took two cards, both for an 11 year-old boy here in town. On one card, it said he was looking for a new pair of jeans and a shirt or two. Something from Under Armor or Nike.
On the other card, it listed his age, and it just said, "gold chain."
Gold chain.
Huh.
That's not an area of Walmart I visit often, maybe to get a battery replaced in my watch once every five years. But, there I stood on Wednesday, peering into the glass classes and waiting my turn to ask the clerk for her assistance.
There wasn't much that I could buy given the price suggestion of $25. But, maybe I was missing the point.
Maybe what Ruth Myers and St. Nick are trying to get me to remember is that there are kids in our community whose lives are radically affected by the reality of poverty. We live in a place where the economic challenges break open in the most heartbreaking ways in the lives of kids, the ones whose parent is struggling with that addiction, who face verbal and physical abuse at home, and who (yes, unfortunately) are potential victims of sexual assault.
If there's one truth that lingers about the original St. Nick of the 4th Century and our call as Christians today, it's that acts of great courage, intervention and love are needed for the children around us subject to harm. Programs like the Giving Tree keep us mindful, at the very least, of this call in this season. But, even more significant work through things like our CASA volunteers, Beyond Homeless, and the Family Support Services of Putnam County take us even further. Those initiatives are truly touching upon the spirit and ethos of St. Nicholas, whose ministry is needed not just once a year, but all the time.
Thanks be to God for the St. Nicholas agents in our community seeking to reach out, strengthen, heal and liberate the lives of our children at greatest risk.
~Wes
[Note: next Wednesday evening on Dec. 11th, there will be a community forum at the library on the reality and effects of poverty in our community. And if you would like to contribute some gifts through the Giving Tree ministry, there are still some cards available in our narthex.]
I was reading the tailend of a New Yorker article, but had no trouble giving my answer.
"Turkey."
Wyatt guessed Finland.
"You're right, dad," Elise said.
Although, to be totally accurate, I should have said somewhere near Myra, a provincial capital in Asia Minor in the fourth century.
We don't know much about St. Nick, not much of the real details about his life and ministry. Mostly what we have now is the stuff of legend, the things that floated their way up through the years from the land of the Mediterrenean all the way up to the North Pole.
St. Nicholas was most famous for engaging in pivotal debates about the true nature of Jesus, but that's not the stuff that has won him fame through the years. The stuff that has hung on and grown over years are the things he did for the young and for the vulnerable.
Three daughters were facing the prospect of a life of forced sexual slavery, their father unable to adequately provide for them financially. In a story reminiscent of the autrocities of the Book of Judges and of impoverished parts of our modern world, it was the young women who would bear the brunt of a failure. Alas, St. Nick stepped forward under the cover of night and deposited three bags of coins in the girl's window, thus saving them from a life of prostitution.
Again, another harsh story. Three little boys stumbled across the path of an evil maniac who murdered each of them, leaving them dead in the street. But, who should appear? Not the eight tiny reindeer. But, thankfully, St. Nicholas, who restored them each to life.
If the original stories (legends really) surrounding St. Nicholas seem harsh to us today, maybe this too is needed. A follow-up to yesterday's jolting news about Jesus. For if St. Nicholas is anything when it comes to the giving of gifts, he is an agent of justice, a vigilante of sorts. He is especially mindful of the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable.
Every year at Christmas, our cultural attention turns to St. Nick again. St. Nicholas will bring us everything we are hoping for and desire, everything from a new Mercedes Benz to fine jewelry. But, if you really want to see the spirit of St. Nicholas, I say look at someone like Ruth Myers and the people like her in our community.
Ruth is doing some amazing work here in Greencastle and has been for years. She's started up a wonderful ministry called Phil the Need that provides for the kids and young people right here in our town. And every Christmas she helps steer the Giving Tree mission, a way for local school kids to get some gifts who otherwise might not.
We sponsor the Giving Tree each year. Carolyn McKee and others in the past gather some 3x5 cards with a child's age and wish list of items on each card. We put them out in our narthex around this time of year, on a table where we can take a card or two and go shopping at Walmart for a gift.
This year, I took two cards, both for an 11 year-old boy here in town. On one card, it said he was looking for a new pair of jeans and a shirt or two. Something from Under Armor or Nike.
On the other card, it listed his age, and it just said, "gold chain."
Gold chain.
Huh.
That's not an area of Walmart I visit often, maybe to get a battery replaced in my watch once every five years. But, there I stood on Wednesday, peering into the glass classes and waiting my turn to ask the clerk for her assistance.
There wasn't much that I could buy given the price suggestion of $25. But, maybe I was missing the point.
Maybe what Ruth Myers and St. Nick are trying to get me to remember is that there are kids in our community whose lives are radically affected by the reality of poverty. We live in a place where the economic challenges break open in the most heartbreaking ways in the lives of kids, the ones whose parent is struggling with that addiction, who face verbal and physical abuse at home, and who (yes, unfortunately) are potential victims of sexual assault.
If there's one truth that lingers about the original St. Nick of the 4th Century and our call as Christians today, it's that acts of great courage, intervention and love are needed for the children around us subject to harm. Programs like the Giving Tree keep us mindful, at the very least, of this call in this season. But, even more significant work through things like our CASA volunteers, Beyond Homeless, and the Family Support Services of Putnam County take us even further. Those initiatives are truly touching upon the spirit and ethos of St. Nicholas, whose ministry is needed not just once a year, but all the time.
Thanks be to God for the St. Nicholas agents in our community seeking to reach out, strengthen, heal and liberate the lives of our children at greatest risk.
~Wes
[Note: next Wednesday evening on Dec. 11th, there will be a community forum at the library on the reality and effects of poverty in our community. And if you would like to contribute some gifts through the Giving Tree ministry, there are still some cards available in our narthex.]
Comments
Post a Comment