St. Nicholas was just a man, but he was a man
with a mission. Born in the third century, he grew up to be an intensely
kind-hearted man who was especially devoted to children’s issues and helping
the poor. He was a Greek Bishop who defied the established Church in order to
go out among the ‘unwashed masses’ and live his life as the ‘heart and hands of
Jesus.’ While many miracles and legends about him evolved through the
centuries, his penchant for leaving secret gifts is the one that captured the
hearts and imaginations of people world-wide, leading to the present-day legend
of Santa Claus.
I, like many new parents, struggled with the
idea of perpetuating a ‘false belief’ and thus undermining my children’s trust.
But then I turned to the Bible and saw how Jesus, who spoke absolute truth always, often spoke that truth in stories. He knew something about people’s
hearts that I needed to learn as a young parent. He knew that the human mind is
logic, analysis, reason, and that the human heart is imagination, creativity,
and love. He knew that sometimes you have to bypass people’s minds and speak
straight to their hearts, those well-springs of wonder, for true understanding
to occur and that often the deepest truths are the ones that are too
big for the human mind to receive and can only be grasped by the heart.
When it comes to the breathtaking gift of the
Christ-Child, the Eternal Creator born of a woman, God Himself wrapped in
swaddling clothes, the I AM in a manger, what better way to share such an
absurd and immense truth than Jesus’ way…with a story? How else would my little
ones be able to grasp the concept of such a gift? How would they embrace the
wonder? How could I possibly break down the impossible into a pedantic lecture?
Would the improbable make more sense in a dissertation?
And so I chose the way of the parable. I
embraced Christmas in all its glory, decorated and baked and shower my loved ones with gifts, all while sharing the story of the birth of a Baby. Woven through
every event, every tradition, every memorable moment of our family’s Christmas,
is the celebration of the wondrous gift of a Savior. We watch Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and all the other fun
Christmas shows together. We read bedtime stories about Christmas elves and
magical toys and talking animals. And when my children ask me if Santa really
exists, I will always tell them yes, because it’s true. Every parent who carries on St. Nicholas’ tradition
of leaving secret gifts, of being the heart and hands of Jesus, of sharing the
wonder, excitement, and glory of the most extraordinary Gift ever given to
mankind, every one of us is Santa Claus.
I believe in Santa Claus because I am Santa Claus…and you are, too
