1 00:00:04,690 --> 00:00:09,789 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:09,789 --> 00:00:13,990 moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. 3 00:00:14,150 --> 00:00:22,109 Today, some random reflections on Christmas. It is one of those times of year, along with Easter, 4 00:00:22,109 --> 00:00:29,870 when people are open, as at no other time, to an explanation as to who and what Jesus was and 5 00:00:29,870 --> 00:00:35,890 what he did. Is this true with you? Do you find yourself more open to hearing about Jesus and his 6 00:00:35,890 --> 00:00:43,969 life? There's something about his life, Christ's life, his life and death, really, that attracts 7 00:00:43,969 --> 00:00:50,369 people like no other. The Apostle Paul puts it this way, when the fullness of time had come, 8 00:00:50,810 --> 00:00:58,009 God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law 9 00:00:58,009 --> 00:01:05,909 so that we might receive adoption as sons, unquote. At Christmas, God sent forth his Son, 10 00:01:06,150 --> 00:01:14,129 Jesus. This vulnerable, needy babe was born of a simple Jewish maiden, Mary, born of woman. 11 00:01:14,890 --> 00:01:20,769 This Son of Grace was also born under the law. That is, he was born under the old covenant of works 12 00:01:20,769 --> 00:01:27,989 that we could never perfectly perform in order that he might redeem those who were under the 13 00:01:27,989 --> 00:01:34,030 law. That is, bring back to God, we, who found ourselves contained and condemned under the law. 14 00:01:34,969 --> 00:01:40,750 Christ, in his life and death on this earth, perfectly obeyed the law in every circumstance 15 00:01:40,750 --> 00:01:45,670 in which he found himself. That's one of the beauties of the gospel, dear listener, to see Jesus Christ 16 00:01:45,670 --> 00:01:53,650 move through his circumstances in first century Palestine and perfectly obey the law. And he thereby 17 00:01:53,650 --> 00:02:01,030 obeyed for us because he was our federal head, that is, the one who acted in our place. This is what 18 00:02:01,030 --> 00:02:06,810 Paul meant when he said to redeem those who were under the law. This is one of those deep theological 19 00:02:06,810 --> 00:02:11,330 issues with which we deal when we think about Christmas, in addition to the simpler things 20 00:02:11,330 --> 00:02:16,310 like shepherds and wise men and angels. There are many simple as well as complex components of 21 00:02:16,310 --> 00:02:22,550 Christmas, many of which we may lack information concerning. For example, where do we derive the 22 00:02:22,550 --> 00:02:31,650 title Christmas? The word Christmas is actually a contraction of two words, Christ's Mass. Christ's 23 00:02:31,650 --> 00:02:39,090 Mass. The church has long celebrated the lives of the saints in 365 feasts, one for every day of the 24 00:02:39,090 --> 00:02:46,689 year. For example, St. Francis of Assisi is assigned October 4, upon which a meal, prayer, and Mass are 25 00:02:46,689 --> 00:02:54,250 said for this particular saint. Likewise, the feast day for Mary, Mother of God, is celebrated on January 1 26 00:02:54,250 --> 00:03:00,810 of every year, in which a Mass is said in the Roman Catholic Church in her name. Well, one might ask, 27 00:03:00,949 --> 00:03:07,270 what is a Mass, when is a Mass said for the Savior, Jesus Christ? Well, the answer is quite simple. 28 00:03:07,270 --> 00:03:14,870 Upon Christmas Day, December 25, this is his feast day, when a Mass is said for him, that is Christ's 29 00:03:14,870 --> 00:03:21,810 Mass, contracted to Christmas, of course. Do you see how nothing comes to us in a vacuum, dear listener? 30 00:03:22,590 --> 00:03:30,469 Christ's Mass, December 25, is a feast day upon which presents are exchanged, feasts are eaten, and 31 00:03:30,469 --> 00:03:37,189 religious services are observed. So elevated has this feast day become that it is observed not only by the 32 00:03:37,189 --> 00:03:43,650 Roman Catholic Church, but by all Christians everywhere. Why do you think that December 25 was 33 00:03:43,650 --> 00:03:49,270 chosen for Christ's Mass? Well, there are two competing theories, only one of which holds up to 34 00:03:49,270 --> 00:03:56,210 historical scrutiny, I would suggest to you. The first explanation is that December 25 was chosen in 35 00:03:56,210 --> 00:04:02,069 order to correspond to the pagan celebration of Saturnalia, that is, the pagan feast for the god Saturn. 36 00:04:02,069 --> 00:04:10,490 In the Roman panoply of gods, the majestic regal personage of Saturn occupied this place in the 37 00:04:10,490 --> 00:04:16,149 calendar of gods to be recognized and celebrated. It was one of winter's great breaks when firewood 38 00:04:16,149 --> 00:04:20,629 could be burned, animals slaughtered, and consumed for protein, and daily labor ceased for at least 12 39 00:04:20,629 --> 00:04:26,730 hours or so in a holiday. In fact, we have a letter from Pope Gregory the Great to a missionary to Britain 40 00:04:26,730 --> 00:04:33,370 that pagan temples and festivals be converted into Christian churches and festivals in order to 41 00:04:33,370 --> 00:04:40,250 facilitate the transition of pagans to Christians. And then, consequently, December 25, the day of Christ's 42 00:04:40,250 --> 00:04:48,649 Mass was one of those days, celebrated then, taken over, if you will, from the Saturnalia, that is the feast day 43 00:04:48,649 --> 00:04:54,149 for Saturn in the pagan panoply. Well, the second explanation that we have for why Christmas is on 44 00:04:54,149 --> 00:05:01,870 December 25. December 25 was chosen because it was figured to be precisely nine months after the church 45 00:05:01,870 --> 00:05:09,329 calculated Jesus' birth from his conception. Church fathers like Tertullian reasoned that the Bible 46 00:05:09,329 --> 00:05:14,949 indicates that Jesus was conceived on the same day on which he was later to die, that is, the day he was 47 00:05:14,949 --> 00:05:21,990 crucified, which would be March 25 or 14 of Nisan in the Jewish calendar. Well, if you calculate from 48 00:05:21,990 --> 00:05:29,350 March 25, his birth is December 25. The great theologian St. Augustine also notes, 49 00:05:29,790 --> 00:05:35,129 for he, that is, Jesus, is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also 50 00:05:35,129 --> 00:05:40,610 he suffered. So the womb of the virgin, in which he was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, 51 00:05:40,930 --> 00:05:47,250 corresponds to the new grave in which he was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before him nor since. 52 00:05:47,250 --> 00:05:54,050 But he was born, according to tradition, upon December the 25th. This, dear listeners, the better option. 53 00:05:55,089 --> 00:06:01,829 Here's another random fact. I'm collecting random facts about Christmas, over which I'm interested, at least, 54 00:06:01,889 --> 00:06:06,870 and I hope you are, too. Another random fact of which you might not be aware concerning Christmas. 55 00:06:06,870 --> 00:06:16,209 Did you know that rank pagan unbelievers were far more conscious, conscious, excuse me, of Jesus' birth 56 00:06:16,209 --> 00:06:23,250 than his own people, the Jews? Yes. Rank pagan unbelievers were far more conscious of Jesus' birth 57 00:06:23,250 --> 00:06:29,810 than were his own people. This is the thrust of the account of the visit of the Magi, the wise men 58 00:06:29,810 --> 00:06:37,370 from the east. In 586 B.C., the Chaldeans, the pagan magicians of Babylon, in service to King Nebuchadnezzar, 59 00:06:37,870 --> 00:06:44,149 overran and conquered Judah, just as her prophets had predicted. In 2 Kings, for example, the Lord said, 60 00:06:44,290 --> 00:06:50,110 I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that 61 00:06:50,110 --> 00:06:55,189 I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. And the army of the 62 00:06:55,189 --> 00:06:59,829 Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered 63 00:06:59,829 --> 00:07:06,250 from him, unquote, from 2 Kings chapter 23. Kings and Chronicles, the books of Kings and Chronicles 64 00:07:06,250 --> 00:07:14,389 in the Old Testament record that they, the Chaldeans, carried away everything of value that they found in 65 00:07:14,389 --> 00:07:19,430 Jerusalem, which would include the sacred scriptures that they found, that is, the Bible of the Jews. 66 00:07:19,430 --> 00:07:26,589 The thing about these Chaldeans, these pagan scholars, is that they read the material they 67 00:07:26,589 --> 00:07:33,250 captured and stole. This happens with every great empire. Those bookish souls who love to pour over 68 00:07:33,250 --> 00:07:39,629 pages and documents and scrolls, they exist everywhere, and I'm afraid one of those people is me. I would 69 00:07:39,629 --> 00:07:44,610 have loved to have poured over those scriptures from all over the world and those books from all over 70 00:07:44,610 --> 00:07:52,370 the world. But these scholars in Babylon assiduously studied and understood what they read. They studied 71 00:07:52,370 --> 00:08:00,709 the prophecies concerning a Savior, a prophecy like that found in Numbers chapter 24, where we read, 72 00:08:00,930 --> 00:08:09,589 I see him, that is the Savior, a king, a great king. I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. 73 00:08:09,589 --> 00:08:15,449 A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. Now, these guys understood 74 00:08:15,449 --> 00:08:21,269 perfectly well that a star in the Old Testament meant not stars falling from the sky or rising in 75 00:08:21,269 --> 00:08:26,850 the sky, but rather kings and princes. A scepter, of course, a king's scepter shall rise out of Israel. 76 00:08:27,310 --> 00:08:34,149 So this was a text prophesying a Messiah. So when the Magi in Babylon saw a phenomenon in the sky, 77 00:08:34,250 --> 00:08:39,570 that is, a star that normally did not shine in the western sky, well, they reasoned that 78 00:08:39,570 --> 00:08:44,389 this prophecy of the Jews was about to be fulfilled. A star was about to come out of Jacob. 79 00:08:45,049 --> 00:08:50,330 A king, that is, a scepter, was about to rise out of Israel. What to do? These guys did the right 80 00:08:50,330 --> 00:08:56,110 thing. They packed up and beat feet to Israel. Be the first to greet and pay homage to this king 81 00:08:56,110 --> 00:09:01,929 who would rule the world. This is the background, then, when you read in Matthew, and I quote from 82 00:09:01,929 --> 00:09:02,850 chapter 2 of Matthew, 83 00:09:02,850 --> 00:09:08,649 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men 84 00:09:08,649 --> 00:09:14,289 from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his 85 00:09:14,289 --> 00:09:20,669 star when it rose, and have come to worship him. Unquote. They were more informed, these pagan 86 00:09:20,669 --> 00:09:27,750 Babylonians, these Chaldeans, these Magi, were more informed than the sleepy-headed scribes and 87 00:09:27,750 --> 00:09:32,889 Pharisees of Israel, who ostensibly studied the text and knew it inside and out. This is one of 88 00:09:32,889 --> 00:09:37,730 the points that Matthew intends to make in his narrative. Even Gentiles were more receptive to 89 00:09:37,730 --> 00:09:43,750 the Messiah than his own people. Well, another favorite random reflection that I have on Christmas 90 00:09:43,750 --> 00:09:49,889 is the 12 days of Christmas. What a rich heritage we have in this blessed tradition, the 12 days of 91 00:09:49,889 --> 00:09:56,009 Christmas. Your kids can learn a lot. You can learn a lot from celebrating the 12 days of Christmas. 92 00:09:57,750 --> 00:10:02,970 You, however, when you hear the 12 days of Christmas. Probably that song that begins on 93 00:10:02,970 --> 00:10:08,049 the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, and on and on and yada yada. This is all we in 94 00:10:08,049 --> 00:10:13,450 the West usually get concerning the 12 days of Christmas. We experience Advent, perhaps, where 95 00:10:13,450 --> 00:10:20,929 we anticipate Christ's birth 28 days prior to Christ's Mass, but then it abruptly ends. We celebrate a 96 00:10:20,929 --> 00:10:26,409 secular New Year's Day a week later, and then it's back to the daily grind. Well, not so in the Eastern 97 00:10:26,409 --> 00:10:33,029 Orthodox Churches consider this tradition. Unlike we in the West, the East makes a sacred celebration 98 00:10:33,029 --> 00:10:41,090 of Christ from his birth on December 25 to the Epiphany 12 days later on January 6, ostensibly 99 00:10:41,090 --> 00:10:46,529 the day when the Magi appeared to worship this newborn king. That's when Christmas ends in the East, 100 00:10:46,629 --> 00:10:53,230 at least. In between, there are 12 feast days when a whole spectrum of spiritual moments are 101 00:10:53,230 --> 00:11:00,809 celebrated. How much is revealed about Christ in these 12 feast days? For example, December 26 102 00:11:00,809 --> 00:11:06,649 is the feast day of St. Stephen, which was a traditional day for giving from the abundance 103 00:11:06,649 --> 00:11:14,909 of Christmas to the poor. If you know the hymn, Good King Wenceslas, you know the entire point of the 104 00:11:14,909 --> 00:11:21,409 hymn is that the king, on the feast day of St. Stephen, spies a poor man come in sight, gathering winter 105 00:11:21,409 --> 00:11:26,549 fuel as the hymn goes, and he orders his page, Bring me flesh and bring me wine, bring me pine logs 106 00:11:26,549 --> 00:11:32,450 hither. Thou and I will see him dine when we bear him hither. It was a feast day for St. Stephen, 107 00:11:32,549 --> 00:11:38,649 December 26. The first deacon of the church in Acts was St. Stephen. Deacons traditionally make 108 00:11:38,649 --> 00:11:45,029 provision for the poor out of the treasury of the church. And so, this day is set aside to lavish a 109 00:11:45,029 --> 00:11:52,110 king's abundance on those less fortunate. So, you do this as well, dear Christian. Go to the soup 110 00:11:52,110 --> 00:11:56,269 kitchen and bring steaks. Go to the city of refuge and replenish their store of turkeys and beef. 111 00:11:56,870 --> 00:12:01,850 See that those less fortunate than you enjoy a king's banquet, even as good King Wenceslas 112 00:12:01,850 --> 00:12:10,750 provided for that poor man and his family. Well, another feast day, December 27 in the 12 days of 113 00:12:10,750 --> 00:12:15,529 Christmas is a feast day for St. John, who was the only one of the 12 disciples of the apostles who 114 00:12:15,529 --> 00:12:21,470 did not die a martyr's death, but a natural death. A mass is said for him, St. John, the disciple who 115 00:12:21,470 --> 00:12:27,789 wrote of the incarnation of Jesus, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Well, December 28 is the 116 00:12:27,789 --> 00:12:32,669 feast day in the 12 days of Christmas, the feast day of the holy innocence, when a mass is said for the 117 00:12:32,669 --> 00:12:38,330 children murdered by Herod, the monster who tried to sweep up the newborn baby Jesus in his dragnet of 118 00:12:38,330 --> 00:12:46,710 holocaust. Well, these babes slaughtered on this feast day were not martyrs like Stephen who died 119 00:12:46,710 --> 00:12:51,429 heroically in a vision of the glorified Christ. No, they were not heroes like the apostles who died 120 00:12:51,429 --> 00:12:58,370 consciously witnessing to the risen Christ. No, rather the church asserts that the innocents died for 121 00:12:58,370 --> 00:13:06,509 Christ nevertheless, because they died unjustly before they had a chance to know or to will for 122 00:13:06,509 --> 00:13:14,490 themselves. In celebrating the holy innocence, we also remember the victims of other innocent slaughters 123 00:13:14,490 --> 00:13:21,870 like children of abortion, or children of war, or children who die of parental abuse. All these are 124 00:13:21,870 --> 00:13:28,950 holy innocents as well in the eyes of the church. Each feast day has its own aspect of Christmas that 125 00:13:28,950 --> 00:13:34,769 highlights a singular feature for Christians to remember the 12 days of Christmas. It's not just gifts 126 00:13:34,769 --> 00:13:40,710 given by my true love, like maids milking golden rings or partridges in a pear tree. No, the 12 days of 127 00:13:40,710 --> 00:13:46,210 Christmas are much, much more. Even Epiphany celebrates not only the day on which the wise men 128 00:13:46,210 --> 00:13:52,409 arrived to worship the newborn king, but also the day on which the gospel has begun to be proclaimed, 129 00:13:53,250 --> 00:13:59,350 Christ's manifestation to the nations, symbolized in these pagan Gentile kings, the Magi, 130 00:13:59,350 --> 00:14:06,149 who now have their Savior revealed to them. So, the 12 days of Christmas is so much more 131 00:14:06,149 --> 00:14:12,750 than a Christmas carol about exotic gifts given me by my true love. It is more about the good gifts of 132 00:14:12,750 --> 00:14:19,669 God to his people through his Son, Jesus the Christ. Well, another random reflection that I have on 133 00:14:19,669 --> 00:14:26,889 Christmas is that I find surprises many people is that the genealogy in Matthew is an integral part of the 134 00:14:26,889 --> 00:14:32,370 Christmas story. Now, what, you may say? Come on, pastor, no boring list of names can be part of the 135 00:14:32,370 --> 00:14:38,629 wondrous story of Christ's nativity, can it? Well, name me one Christmas carol about the genealogy, 136 00:14:38,730 --> 00:14:42,929 huh? I've seen plenty of dramatizations about the holy family who found no room at the inn, 137 00:14:43,389 --> 00:14:47,269 retired to the manger, or shepherds who tended their flocks by night, visited by singing angels, 138 00:14:47,649 --> 00:14:52,289 even Herod killing the infants of Bethlehem. Hymns about these, but I've never seen a Cecil B. DeMille 139 00:14:52,289 --> 00:14:58,889 or Steven Spielberg dramatization of Jesus' genealogy. It's an oxymoron. A genealogy cannot 140 00:14:58,889 --> 00:15:05,889 by definition be dramatic, can it? But any self-respecting Jew of the first century would 141 00:15:05,889 --> 00:15:12,149 shake his head in disbelief at you. This kind of attitude, and he would ask you why you could, 142 00:15:12,250 --> 00:15:16,029 on the one hand, say you relied on the Bible for truth, while on the other hand, dismissing 143 00:15:16,029 --> 00:15:22,110 genealogies. Genealogies were utterly necessary to the life of a young baby for several reasons, 144 00:15:22,110 --> 00:15:27,970 let me give you the two of them. Well, genealogy was necessary to the life of a young baby because 145 00:15:27,970 --> 00:15:36,289 a child's genealogy established his chosen status. Are you a Jew or a Gentile? Even today, a Jew is not 146 00:15:36,289 --> 00:15:41,789 a Jew unless he can establish his lineage via his parents, and genealogies help establish this. 147 00:15:42,350 --> 00:15:47,830 Secondly, the promised Messiah would descend from Abraham and David. This is why genealogies are 148 00:15:47,830 --> 00:15:53,350 important as well in tracking the Messiah. The promised Messiah would descend from Abraham and 149 00:15:53,350 --> 00:16:01,450 David. The covenants which God cut with Abraham and David both promised that the Savior of mankind 150 00:16:01,450 --> 00:16:06,990 would descend from their line. To Abraham, he said, in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. 151 00:16:07,370 --> 00:16:11,690 And to David, he promised, when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, 152 00:16:11,690 --> 00:16:17,129 I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body, and I will establish his 153 00:16:17,129 --> 00:16:22,210 kingdom. That is Christ's kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his throne 154 00:16:22,210 --> 00:16:29,429 of his kingdom forever. Unquote. Therefore, when the Messiah appeared, he would have to establish his 155 00:16:29,429 --> 00:16:36,429 lineage right out of the gate. No Jew worth his salt would expect anything less, especially those 156 00:16:36,429 --> 00:16:41,909 responsible for authenticating these things. Dear listener, it is difficult for us Gentiles on this 157 00:16:41,909 --> 00:16:48,370 side of Christmas to comprehend the primacy of Christ's genealogy to first-century Jews, but it was there. 158 00:16:48,929 --> 00:16:54,769 Consequently, can you understand the importance of Jesus' birth narrative beginning with these words, 159 00:16:54,850 --> 00:17:00,350 the first words of the New Testament, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of 160 00:17:00,350 --> 00:17:07,950 Abraham. Unquote. Few people realize that the nativity actually begins with a genealogy. Turn to Matthew 161 00:17:07,950 --> 00:17:12,890 chapter 1. You will find that the birth narrative of Jesus begins not with angels or shepherds or 162 00:17:12,890 --> 00:17:18,490 Joseph and Mary, but with a dry, boring, and trivial to us anyway, genealogy. But it would not have been 163 00:17:18,490 --> 00:17:24,390 thus for its first-century audience, Jews who expected the Messiah's credentials to be authenticated before 164 00:17:24,390 --> 00:17:29,970 anything else was said about him. The genealogy in Matthew does precisely this. It is entirely 165 00:17:29,970 --> 00:17:35,450 fitting to begin the birth narrative with the genealogy of Jesus. The third important point 166 00:17:35,450 --> 00:17:41,990 about the genealogy is that Christ's genealogy gathers up all of fallen humanity. Read through 167 00:17:41,990 --> 00:17:46,829 the names in the genealogy and then look into their histories. There are actually some very poignant 168 00:17:46,829 --> 00:17:53,390 moments of drama in the genealogy, if you know your Old Testament. So many people do not know their 169 00:17:53,390 --> 00:17:58,369 Old Testaments, however. How many of you know, for example, that Jesus is a descendant of incest and 170 00:17:58,369 --> 00:18:06,009 prostitution? Yes, by way of Judah and Tamar. Go over the story in Genesis. Jesus stands in the 171 00:18:06,009 --> 00:18:12,509 line of Perez, son of Tamar, who connived and cajoled her father-in-law Judah to bear her a son 172 00:18:12,509 --> 00:18:19,789 by posing as a prostitute. Jesus is also descended to Rahab, the prostitute of Jericho, and what is 173 00:18:19,789 --> 00:18:25,710 more, Solomon, the son of David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. So if you read the 174 00:18:25,710 --> 00:18:32,190 genealogy of our Savior carefully, you notice that there's a lot of saving to do. The next time 175 00:18:32,190 --> 00:18:37,430 you pick up Matthew and begin to read, do not skip over the genealogy with which he begins his 176 00:18:37,430 --> 00:18:45,230 narrative. The genealogy is integral to his story of salvation by grace. Finally, we'd be remiss to 177 00:18:45,230 --> 00:18:50,029 neglect the history of Santa Claus, if we're talking about Christmas. He's really a pale image, though. 178 00:18:50,029 --> 00:18:57,650 Our notion of Santa Claus is really a pale image of the real Saint Claus or Saint Nicholas. What a 179 00:18:57,650 --> 00:19:03,289 contrast between the legend and the reality, dear listener. The story of the true Santa Claus begins 180 00:19:03,289 --> 00:19:10,349 with Nicholas, who was born during the 3rd century in the village of Patara. At the time, the area was 181 00:19:10,349 --> 00:19:17,569 Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, Saint Nicholas, who raised him to 182 00:19:17,569 --> 00:19:24,190 be a devout Christian. His parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying 183 00:19:24,190 --> 00:19:30,990 Jesus' words to sell what you own and give the money to the poor, Nicholas used his whole inheritance 184 00:19:30,990 --> 00:19:38,950 to assist the needy and the sick and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made 185 00:19:38,950 --> 00:19:46,390 bishop of Myra in Asia Minor while he was still a young man. So then Bishop Nicholas went on. He became 186 00:19:46,390 --> 00:19:51,950 known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need. He became known for his love for 187 00:19:51,950 --> 00:19:57,890 children, and he became known for his concern for sailors and ships, too. Now, under the Roman 188 00:19:57,890 --> 00:20:03,549 emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, 189 00:20:03,670 --> 00:20:09,069 too, and was exiled and imprisoned. But after his release, Nicholas attended also the Council of 190 00:20:09,069 --> 00:20:17,930 Nicaea in A.D. 325. And he died on December 6, 343 in Myra, and he was buried in his cathedral church. 191 00:20:18,430 --> 00:20:23,230 Now, one story of Saint Nicholas tells of a poor man with three daughters. Now, in those days, 192 00:20:23,509 --> 00:20:28,390 a young woman's father had to offer prospective husband something of a value, that is a dowry. 193 00:20:29,029 --> 00:20:35,509 This large dowry, the larger the dowry, the better the chance that a woman had in finding a good 194 00:20:35,509 --> 00:20:42,269 husband. But without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughter, without dowries, 195 00:20:42,490 --> 00:20:47,430 were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. But mysteriously, on three different occasions, 196 00:20:47,529 --> 00:20:53,349 a bag of gold appeared in their home, providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold tossed through 197 00:20:53,349 --> 00:20:59,630 an open window are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left behind the fire to dry. This led to 198 00:20:59,630 --> 00:21:04,589 the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. 199 00:21:04,589 --> 00:21:10,869 Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That's why three gold balls, 200 00:21:11,069 --> 00:21:16,250 sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. 201 00:21:16,650 --> 00:21:24,670 And so Saint Nicholas comes down to us as a gift giver. So, dear listener, banish the notion of the 202 00:21:24,670 --> 00:21:29,809 cartoon character, Santa Claus, that's come to take the place of the real Saint Nicholas. 203 00:21:29,809 --> 00:21:36,069 He would weep, Saint Nicholas would, if he saw today what has been made of him. What a caricature. 204 00:21:36,710 --> 00:21:41,029 Saint Nicholas is not a clown character dressed in a red suit with a fluffy white beard and black boots. 205 00:21:41,130 --> 00:21:47,910 No, Bishop Nicholas indeed loved children deeply, cared for them in an age when infant mortality hovered 206 00:21:47,910 --> 00:21:54,069 somewhere around 20 percent, and disease and poverty characterized childhood all over Europe and Asia. 207 00:21:54,069 --> 00:22:01,109 Oh, Saint Nicholas did anonymously leave food and clothing and gifts for children and their families. 208 00:22:01,849 --> 00:22:05,410 Saint Nicholas did not slide down chimneys and leave a room full of toys for kids. 209 00:22:06,150 --> 00:22:13,150 The good bishop ministered to children in a disciplined fashion all year round. He didn't work year round at the 210 00:22:13,150 --> 00:22:17,650 North Pole with an army of elves in order to disgorge an avalanche of toys in one night, Christmas Eve, 211 00:22:17,710 --> 00:22:23,809 in an orgy of consumerism. That's not Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas followed the example of Jesus, 212 00:22:23,809 --> 00:22:32,569 Christ, and did all in Christ's name. Saint Nicholas was not the secular, godless, cardboard cutout 213 00:22:32,569 --> 00:22:40,289 that our society makes him out to be. Remember this then, dear listener. Teach this example to your 214 00:22:40,289 --> 00:22:48,690 children. Follow the lead of the good Bishop Nicholas, not that of the cardboard cutout, the consumeristic, 215 00:22:48,690 --> 00:22:57,569 secular, pagan fantasy of Santa Claus. No. Finally, my last random reflection, if you will, on Christmas. 216 00:22:58,450 --> 00:23:07,529 Why is this season anticipating Christmas called Advent? Yes, the season prior to Christmas Day itself 217 00:23:07,529 --> 00:23:18,329 is often called Advent, which means a coming or arrival. Because, indeed, this season looks forward the 28 days 218 00:23:18,329 --> 00:23:24,369 before Christmas, looks forward to the first arrival of Jesus Christ into the world that he made, the first 219 00:23:24,369 --> 00:23:31,990 arrival. But savvy Christians also know that Christmas anticipates his second Advent, too, when he returns to 220 00:23:31,990 --> 00:23:38,970 redeem his own, and to renew a fallen creation, and then finally to judge the wicked. Christ will have a second 221 00:23:38,970 --> 00:23:46,650 Advent, as well as a first Advent. Now, the Lutheran Church has long recognized this facet of Christmas, 222 00:23:46,650 --> 00:23:54,150 and they do so on the third Sunday in Advent. On the third Sunday in Advent, they have this prayer, and I love 223 00:23:54,150 --> 00:24:01,170 this prayer. This is from the Lutheran Book of Worship, and that prayer goes, Almighty God, you once called 224 00:24:01,170 --> 00:24:07,230 John the Baptist, to give witness to the coming of your Son, and to prepare his way. Grant us, 225 00:24:07,230 --> 00:24:14,150 your people, the wisdom to see your purpose today, and the openness to hear your will, that we may 226 00:24:14,150 --> 00:24:20,529 witness to Christ's coming, and so prepare his way, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns 227 00:24:20,529 --> 00:24:26,890 with you, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. That's from the Lutheran Book of Worship, 228 00:24:26,890 --> 00:24:33,670 and that's meant to be prayed by the people on the third Sunday in Advent. But indeed, it witnesses, 229 00:24:33,890 --> 00:24:41,470 if you will, the second coming of Christ, his second Advent. That, too, is anticipated when we 230 00:24:41,470 --> 00:24:48,730 anticipate his first Advent, that is, his birth on Christmas. So, know this, at every Christmas, 231 00:24:48,890 --> 00:24:55,630 dear listener, Christ's first Advent is only half a story. Use this Christmas season to anticipate his 232 00:24:55,630 --> 00:25:03,269 second Advent, too. Be prepared. Put on the whole armor of God. Put your faith in this Christ now, 233 00:25:03,269 --> 00:25:09,750 for all of the work of salvation that he accomplished at his first Advent, and the completion of that work 234 00:25:09,750 --> 00:25:15,089 of salvation, complete redemption for us, his people, at his second Advent, when he comes again. 235 00:25:16,410 --> 00:25:22,009 Even as Paul says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, we've been touching on this, there's only one rapture. 236 00:25:22,009 --> 00:25:28,970 There's one rapture when Christ returns at the end of time to wrap all things up, not a pre-trib 237 00:25:28,970 --> 00:25:35,509 rapture. But indeed, 1 Corinthians chapter 4 says this about Christ's last and final rapture of his 238 00:25:35,509 --> 00:25:40,170 coming for the saints when we will be gathered to him in the air. He says this, for the Lord himself 239 00:25:40,170 --> 00:25:46,029 will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of 240 00:25:46,029 --> 00:25:52,309 the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, 241 00:25:52,670 --> 00:25:58,170 will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always 242 00:25:58,170 --> 00:26:03,849 be with the Lord. Christ's second Advent, dear listener. His first Advent here as we celebrate 243 00:26:03,849 --> 00:26:10,630 the Christmas season, as we look forward to friends and family and time together with them, 244 00:26:10,630 --> 00:26:15,970 and we celebrate Christ's first Advent when he accomplished the claims of redemption and 245 00:26:15,970 --> 00:26:21,329 accomplished our soul's redemption. We'll return again at the second Advent to redeem our bodies 246 00:26:21,329 --> 00:26:27,609 and all of creation. May this bless you during this Christmas time, dear listener. This is Pastor 247 00:26:27,609 --> 00:26:34,390 David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. New Geneva meets for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. 248 00:26:34,390 --> 00:26:37,210 at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard.