The real
Saint Nicholas was a bishop in Myra of Asia Minor, current day Turkey. As a
bishop, he would have been a devoted and genuine believer in Jesus as Emmanuel,
“God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). Bishops or elders were overseers over the
spiritual life of a Christian community. In the earliest times, each church had
several “bishops” or overseers, such as at Ephesus (Acts 20:17, 28) or Philippi
(Philippians 1:1). They were to “shepherd the church of God” (Acts 20:28; 1
Peter 5:2). Although most bishops were men, a few were women, such as Theodora.
A bishop was to be “temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt
teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a
lover of money” (1 Timothy 3:2-3).[1] Nicolas
was known for his generosity, which made him “hospitable” or a “lover of
strangers.” When his Christian parents died and he received his inheritance, he
used it to assist the needy and the sick. For example, three young girls of
Patara who could not marry because they were poor could have been sold into
slavery. But Nicholas tossed into an open window three bags of gold so they
could use them for their dowries. Once, when he was returning from a pilgrimage
to the Holy Land, a mighty storm threatened to wreck the ship. Like his Lord
Jesus (for example, Matthew 14:22-33), Nicholas calmly prayed. The terrified
sailors were amazed when the wind and waves suddenly calmed, sparing them all.
That is why Saint Nicholas became known as the friend and protector of all in
trouble or in need, especially of children and sailors.
Saint
Nicolas personally begged Emperor Constantine for lower taxes for his region
because the high taxes were causing much hardship in Myra. Constantine granted
a reduction that lasted at least two centuries. Jesus too was concerned for the
needy and the sick both when on earth and even now.
During
the early years, many bishops had to suffer for their faith. Nicholas not only
gave generously from his own possessions, he also was imprisoned because of his
belief in Jesus during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Nicholas was
later released and possibly attended the Council of Nicaea in A. D. 325, where
he defended true doctrine about Jesus being fully God as well as fully human.
Saint Nicholas
is known as a gift-giver and that ability to give gifts comes from God. Jesus’
brother James explained to Messianic Jews that “every generous act of giving,
with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights”
(James 1:17). Jesus even today gives to the church gifts of ability in
prophecy, evangelism, shepherding, and teaching to help equip believers for
service to others (Ephesians 4:11).
At this
time, when we celebrate God’s gift to us of Jesus, the Savior, we do well to
remember that Saint Nicholas points to One greater than himself.[2]
Aída
[1]
All Bible quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version.
[2]
For further resources see www.stnicholascenter.org;
catholic.org/saints; Rebecca Benson Haskell, The True Story of Saint Nicholas (Chambersburg, PA: Alan C. Hood
& Co., 1997); Adam C. English, The
Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus: The True Life and Trials of Nicholas of Myra
(Waco, TX: Baylor University, 2012).
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