DAY 267
Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of faith
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland
pastorrobert@paxpres.org
Week Thirty-nine Sunday 6 December 2020
ADVENT II
Feast Day of St. Nicholas 270-343 A.D.
Grant, Almighty God, that your church may be so inspired by the example of your servant Nicholas of Myra, that it may never cease to work for the welfare of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. - Episcopal Church Collects for Special Days.
December 6th, the date of his death, is the feast day of St. Nicholas. For millions of people throughout Europe, this is the beginning of the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany season, a time for gift giving that for some eclipses Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for the giving of gifts. In the early 1600’s, when the Protestant Dutch came to the new world of America, they brought with them - Sinterklass, who became our anglicized Santa Claus.
Before he morphed into Santa Claus, Nicholas was a real man who served as the Christian bishop of Myra in what is now modern day Turkey. He lived during the reign of Diocletian, Emperor of Rome who severely persecuted Christians, and he spent time in prison. When Emperor Constantine became a Christian and took the whole of the Roman Empire with him into this new religion, Nicholas was released from prison and flourished in his ministry as a bishop, participating in the Council of Nicea out of which came our Nicene Creed.
Nicholas said, “The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God’s giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.” Nicholas understood that true giving is a mimicking of God the ultimate giver which, in an unseen way, when done in the name of Christ, links the recipient to God. He gave secretly, leaving gifts on the doorsteps of the poor, the widowed, and orphans. He knew the particular inner rewards of anonymous giving.
Reflective question: Are you open to cultivating a lifestyle that includes intentional giving to the poor and their children especially during this pandemic?
Reflective Scripture: Proverbs 19:17 – “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, …”
Reflective hymn:
“By All Your Saints Still Striving” – Horatio Nelson (1823-1913)
Sung to the same tune as “The Church’s One Foundation”
With joy your Church remembers Saint Nicholas, the blest,
Who gave up earthly treasures and Jesus’ name confessed.
The poor and weak he welcomed, the heretic he scorned;
Through faith and life and preaching, Christ’s Gospel he adorned.
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