Few men
or women have gained the respect of the Christian world like Saint Nicholas. He
is respected by Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christians for his acts of charity
and compassion. This widespread fame presents us Orthodox Christians with the
opportunity to share our theology of the Saints with those Christians and
non-Christians. His fame opens the door for Orthodox Christians to share the
rich Holy Tradition of the early Church through the life and teachings of this
great Saint.
But what
do most of us do on the Feast of Saint Nicholas? Some of us keep our faith to
ourselves and ‘maybe’ attend Divine Liturgy if a member of our family is named
Nicholas or Nicholia. But unfortunately many Orthodox Christians waste this
opportunity by complaining about Santa Claus and ‘insisting’ on using the image
of Saint Nicholas as a Bishop of the Church rather than the jolly old man in a
red fur suit.
When the
world’s attention is focused on one of the most important Saints of the
Orthodox Church, we shouldn’t waste time complaining about trivial cartoons. We
should let the world know WHY Saint Nicholas was so popular, and HOW he
defended the truth of Christ, and WHAT acts of charity and compassion he
performed while a BISHOP of the Church. There is so much to teach, there isn’t
enough time to waste.
A very
good resource, one that I recommend bookmarking, is the Mystagogy blog by John
Sandidopoulos, a Seminary school mate of mine and VERY popular website. He has
an entire section on Saint
Nicholas.
Spend
some time familiarizing yourself with this great Saint so you can have positive
conversations with friends during the so-called holiday season. It will go much
further than complaints. Give it a try.
This post is written for the 40
Days of Blogging Challenge sponsored by the Preachers
Institute. You may find other blogs
participating in this challenge. I hope you enjoy this year’s Advent journey.
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