Darkened Glass Reflections

The Words of Christ—Mark 10:14-15 (Feast of St. Nicholas)

But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all” (Mark 10:14-15, New American Standard Bible).

St. Nicholas is commemorated partially for his generosity. In one account, he knew of a family who had fallen on hard times; since the father no longer had the dowry money necessary for his daughters to marry, they faced a future of either poverty or prostitution. St. Nicholas secretly visited the home on three different nights, throwing enough money through the window each time for one daughter’s dowry. Image from Wellcome Trust, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

December 6 is the Feast of St. Nicholas when some churches commemorate the bishop, St. Nicholas of Myra (270-343 AD). In some countries, it is a big deal, with church services and gift-giving in his honor, recognizing him for his legendary generosity and as the patron saint of children. In America, his image has morphed into that of Santa Claus.

Children have no trouble believing in and getting excited about Santa Claus. They see him at every shopping mall. Either he gets around or some of them are really Santa’s helpers. (Of course, the child always ends up on the real Santa’s lap, not one of the helpers.) He rides around the world overnight in a sleigh pulled by eight flying reindeer, breaking the laws of physics to bring presents to good children everywhere. It is quite incomprehensible, but children believe the story and love Santa Claus.

Eventually, they realize it was all a nice story with no link to reality. Sadly, many of us become jaded as we grow up. We lose the willingness to trust. As children, we believed in Santa Claus even if we never actually saw him enter the house. (I never heard his sleigh on the roof or heard him enter our home, even though I had trouble falling asleep on Christmas Eve. Still, I believed!) As adults, we might trust nobody: The media, our boss, TV commercials, our neighbors, our family members, and the church are all questionable. We have trouble believing.

Jesus said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” We need to believe, trust, and love the Lord our God. Too often, we demand evidence before we will believe. Perhaps we should believe and trust Him, and then He will allow us to see His truth.

How do you believe? Is it with the faith of a child or with suspicion and doubt?

Copyright © 2023 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.

Michael E. Lynch

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