(Nicholas, Bishop of Myra)
Luke 21:1-19
Today we commemorate St. Nicholas, who in the third century was Bishop of Myra, in present-day southwest Turkey. He was well-known for his generosity to the poor, especially to children in need. He was not only generous but modest, keeping his gifts anonymous, so the recipients would thank God, not him.
After his death, his reputation for generous giving to the poor continued to grow. Through the centuries, various legends slowly took over, so that by now fiction has almost totally displaced the facts. Poor St. Nicholas: even his name has been corrupted by legend, stripping Nicholas of its Ni and o into Chlas (or commonly Claus), and replacing Saint by the corrupted version Santa. Thus the real man of God, generous and humble, has, in popular culture, morphed into a fictional elf giving loads of toys to children – but not now to the children in real need. Now it is the wealthiest children, those who already have great amounts of stuff they don’t need, who are most anxious to get even more stuff from Santa Claus, and thus they grow up, like their parents, serving the false gods of materialism and consumerism. Children with real needs, those who have the least, who are hungry and sick and cold, receive almost nothing from Santa Claus. What a perverse tragedy our corrupt world has inflicted on the memory of this generous man of God.
Our scripture passage today begins (Luke 21:1-4) with Jesus praising a poor widow who, in a true spirit of worship, donated sacrificially. Jesus compares her with the rich people whose gifts cost them little and from which they hoped to gain adulation. Almost no one but Jesus would ever notice the poor widow, being so wowed by the magnificent gifts of the rich. But Jesus sees how generous the poor widow really is, how genuine is her faith, in contrast to the rich who donate with little real cost and impure motives. In this world, people are almost always biased in favour of the rich, the powerful, and the famous, but Jesus is not. He sees the heart, not judging by outward appearance. So to us who are so biased, Jesus appears to favour the poor, and that’s what he wants us to do too.
Next in our passage (21:5-6) is an even shorter incident that again shows how different Jesus’ perspective is from the world’s, and again Jesus wants his disciples to share his perspective. One of Jesus’ disciples, admiring the majestic Temple they were visiting, spoke to Jesus about its grandeur and its beauty. Immediately Jesus replied that the time was coming when the Temple would be completely destroyed, all its beauty reduced to nothing. All its massive stones and wonderful art will become nothing but a rubbish hill.
It was not that Jesus was opposed to worship in the Temple: when in Jerusalem, he was often in the Temple, and when elsewhere he normally worshipped in a synagogue on the Sabbath. But even magnificent temples will fall apart in the end. What will last permanently is service to people in need. Jesus says elsewhere (Matt. 10:42) that even giving a little cup of cold water to a thirsty child will bring its reward in heaven. People who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and care about the powerless and marginalized – they are the ones who gain eternal life (Matt. 25:34-40). That’s what is permanent.
This is the way of Jesus. But it’s not the way of most prosperous people in this world, who value money and fancy buildings, power and prestige, and who give only a few tidbits or extras to people Jesus calls important and values for eternity.
Jesus’ priorities were so opposite to the norms of his society that he aroused opposition and hatred, especially from religious and political leaders who, shortly after today’s incidents, arranged to have him put to death – but God vindicated him by the Resurrection, affirming that Jesus’ way is right, the way God intends people to live. Jesus knew what was coming, and in today’s reading (21:12-19) he tells his disciples (including us) that, when we share his priorities, we too will face persecution, accusations, trials, and death.
St. Nicholas followed Christ’s way of generosity. The common people admired him and after his death passed on stories about his good deeds. But the misplaced priorities and corruption of this world slowly co-opted these stories into the very opposite of what he stood for, perverting his memory into a Santa Claus serving consumerism, not Christ. Unless we stay alert, the world can slowly co-opt us too into fatal materialism and consumerism.
Are we ready to change our way of thinking and come to treat people as Jesus did, really caring and helping the poor, the hungry, the needy and marginalized? Are we ready to move beyond tokenism to the wholehearted commitment Jesus demonstrated? If so, are we willing to the pay the price Jesus told us may come?
Let us take up the challenge to follow Christ’s way, care for people in need, and keep ourselves unstained by this world (James 1:27).
-- Robert Kruse
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