St. Nicholas Day

Advent Devotional by Pastor Fred Andersen

“They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph,

and the baby lying in the manger.”

—Luke 2:16 Common English Bible—

As a child I looked forward to watching Santa’s Workshop on television. It featured Santa telling stories about the flying reindeer, life at the North Pole, and reading letters from the children.
One letter stands out after all these years. The letter began with the usual request for toys and continued with how the child prayed to Santa every night.
Santa read the letter with great care and then gently put it down on the table beside his chair. He explained that he was honored to receive the letter and he would forward the request to the elves preparing the list for Christmas Eve.
He went on to explain that he was not a “god’ who was deserving of being addressed in a person’s prayer. He further explained that he is a servant of the one God just like many other people. He encouraged the writer to continue the bedtime prayers and to address them to the one God.
Many years later I saw a statue of the red suited Santa Claus kneeling beside the manger of the Christ child. His hat was on the ground, his head was bowed, and his hands were folded in prayer. I instantly remembered the letter read on Santa’s Workshop and how Santa Claus said to the viewing audience that ‘he was a servant of the one God.’

Prayer:
O, Lord, our God, help us to always remember that Jesus is the reason for the Christmas Season. Amen.