Typical holiday greetings just seem so redundant this time of year. All the nostalgia from Christmas past and the warm feelings that come to mind of the ultimate Christmas event, are so easy to use as a back drop for a Christmas greeting. So after scratching my head on how to offer my greeting to you, I decided to instead tell the story of Old Saint Nick.
Before the Roman Empire fell and when the Romans started to fear the Christians movement there was a wealthy Christian family in Greece that had a reputation of being very generous. This family was not large in fact there was just one son, as far as history knows. The reason for only one child may be explained with the fact that the parents died of the plague when the son was just a school age boy. Although he was well cared for because of his Father’s wealth, the Romans began a large push to eradicate the Christians with a vengeance. The rest of this wealthy young man’s life he worked hard to help the Christians, and support their efforts in hiding their churches. He also helped them to get money to the families that were in prison. He is most known for caring for the orphans that were the product of parents being executed for their Faith. As he grew he became the first bishop in that area of Greece. Though not much is known of how long he lived or how he may have died. It is certain that Nickolas the Bishop of Greece lived and was known for giving to the less fortunate when it could cost you your life.
It is extremely hard to give after a great loss. It truly is a wonderful test of character to give generously in the face of personal pain. Christ after hearing of the beheading of John the Baptist (His cousin) within the hour began healing large amounts of people. A local lady I know just lost her father and is still dedicated to her work at a local charity. It is inspiring.
Merry Christmas and may God bless you everyone…………
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