In this particular season, whether we want to call it the festive season, or the Advent season or the raining season, a famous figure will appear to bring some cheer.
Let me give a short popular description of this figure and we will certainly know who this is.
He has a white bushy beard, quite roundish, dressed in red with white trimmings, and his famous quote is “ho, ho, ho”.
Yes, we are talking about Santa Claus, who appears around this time in the festive decorations and also in advertisements.
But Santa Claus is not a clever figment of commercial imagination.
The name, Santa Claus comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas which means St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas was a 4th century saint and the bishop of Myra (which is modern day Turkey).
His feast day is on 6th December (last Thursday) and just out of curiosity, I checked the newspaper advertisements but I hardly find any appearance of Santa Claus.
Maybe he fell out of fashion, or maybe he was forgotten during this season.
Yet, many miracles were attributed to the intercession of St. Nicholas and he became known as Nicholas the Wonder Worker.
He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him. And so he became the model for Santa Claus.
One of his famous acts of charity was towards a poor man who had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them.
This would mean that they would remain unmarried and in the face of poverty, they might be forced into prostitution.
When St. Nicholas came to know about it, he decided to help the poor man secretly.
Under cover of night, he went to the poor man’s house and threw three small bags, each filled with gold coins, one for each daughter, through the window opening of the man’s house.
But later, the poor man found out about it and came to thank St. Nicholas.
In humility, St Nicholas said that it was not him he should thank.
Rather he should thank God and God alone.
Yes, thank God for the gift of saints like St. Nicholas to show His great love and His help to those in need.
In today’s gospel, we hear of another great saint who also makes his appearance around this time of the year.
So, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was Governor of Judea, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee etc etc, the word of God came upon a strange person in a strange place.
The word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, when he was somewhere in the wilderness. It was quite a contrast to the big names and the big places we heard earlier.
Yes, the word of God came to John and with that John went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
As the prophet Isaiah puts it: A voice cries in the wilderness – Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill will be laid low, winding ways will be straightened, and rough roads made smooth.
So that all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
With the word of God, John the Baptist proclaimed repentance and forgiveness of sins so that the people can see the great love of God.
It was a simple message with a profound meaning and it turned people back to God.
John the Baptist was God’s gift to the people and his mission was to prepare the way for God’s greatest gift to us – Jesus Christ.
Yes, at a time when the power and might of Tiberius Caesar and Pontius Pilate and Herod and Annas and Caiaphas cast a fearsome shadow on the land, the word of God came to John the Baptist to bring forgiveness and salvation.
And later on in the 4th century, the word of God came to St Nicholas and he brought gifts to the poor and needy.
We heard earlier how St Nicholas helped the poor man and his 3 daughters by giving them 3 bags of gold coins.
That is why there are images of St Nicholas holding 3 gold round bags, or three golden balls, depicting him as a gift-giver.
Hence, the golden ball decorations that we hang on the Christmas tree symbolize the gifts of St Nicholas.
Well, St Nicholas or Santa Claus is a gift-giver but he points to God who is the God of all gifts.
So, on this day in December in the season of Advent, in the year 2012, the word of God comes to us as a gift.
The word of God comes to us, bringing forgiveness and salvation.
The word of God comes to us, calling us to repentance but it is a joyful repentance.
This repentance is to make us realize that we are to be gifts to others, gifts that bring about hope, peace, joy and love.
So as we think about what gifts we need to get for others, let us realize that the greatest gifts lie within us.
Well, gold and silver we may have none, but like John the Baptist and St Nicholas, we can give others the greatest gift of all, and that is the love of Jesus Christ.
So, to our enemy, we give the gift of forgiveness.
To our opponents, we give the gift of tolerance.
To a friend, the gift of our loyalty
To a customer, the gift of joyful service.
To our superior, the gift of obedience.
To our spouse, the gift of faithfulness.
To our children, the gift of good example.
Yes, to all, let us give the gift of love.
Because in Jesus Christ, God has given us all of His love.
So, let us and rejoice and be a joyful gift to others.