12/6/2014 – The feast of St Nicholas – Wednesday of the first week of Advent - Isaiah 25:6-10A

     Today we celebrate the feast of St Nicholas, an important symbol for us of our Advent journey.  St Nicholas was the inspiration for the figure of Santa Claus in our modern celebrations of the Christmas season.   But who exactly was St Nicholas?   He was born in the small village of Patara on the southern coast of Turkey. He was born to a wealthy family and was raised as a Christian, but his parents died from an epidemic when he was young.   He inherited quite a large inheritance, but walking in the footsteps of those humble disciples who were sent out to be missionaries in today’s Gospel, Nicholas used his whole inheritance to help the sick and the poor.  He became well-known in his native land for his generosity, for his love for children, and his dedication to sailors and those who made their livelihood from the sea.  He became a bishop in the city of Myra when he was still a young man.  During the time he was bishop, the Roman Emperor Diocletian ushered in the era of the worst persecution of Christians in the Early Church.  Nicholas was exiled and sent to prison with many other bishops, priests, and deacons.  After his release from prison, he became an influential attendee of the Council of Nicea in the year 325. In fact, legend has it is that he was so impassioned in the discussion that took place about Jesus’ true divinity and true humanity at that council that he got into a fistfight with Arius, a priest from Alexandria Egypt, for whom the heresy Arianism is named.  Nicholas died on December 6 in 346, hence the date for his feast that we celebrate today.   

       We know that many different legends and stories have been told about St Nicholas, that he has become this iconic symbol of Christmas.  However, for us Christians, he is a great example for us during the Advent season, of how he became a protector of the poor and a helper of those in need.  As we hear Isaiah’s well-known vision of the banquet God has a prepared for us in our eternal life with him, may we prepare for this banquet with a life of service, of justice, and of mercy in the spirit of St Nicholas.