Lover or Fighter? St. Nicholas of Myra

   

Lover or Fighter?

Well, which is he, lover or fighter? St. Nicholas has the distinction of being one of those saints whose name is known to just about everybody, inside and outside the Church. At the same time, few, at least in the west, know his actual story today. I first published a version of the post below on a different blog on December 6th, 2014. I bring it back every year on this date to kick off the Advent season. After all, we await the arrival of the Savior who says:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. (John 15:9)

But also tells us:

Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)

As we do with the Lord he serves, we need to ask whether St. Nicholas is a lover, a fighter . . . or both?

Hang out your stockings!

  Hang out your stockings: today, December 6^th, is the feast day of St. Nicholas of Myra.  Over the last couple of centuries the modern Santa Claus has somehow developed from the figure of this 4^th century bishop. The real Saint has retained a strong devotion in both the Eastern and Western churches.  

I say the “real Saint” with the proviso that he is another one of those Saints (like St. Valentine or St. Barbara) about whom we know little with historical certainty. As the biography at Catholic Online [here] tells us: “his episcopate at Myra during the fourth century is really all that seems indubitably authentic.”  Nonetheless, I think it’s reasonable to assume that what has come down to us has some basis, at least, in his life and in the way he conducted himself.

Generosity and Mercy

     The most familiar story about St. Nicholas in our time concerns his generosity.  He inherited great wealth from his parents. While still a young man, he decided to give his money to the poor.  He famously rescued three poverty-stricken young women from being sold into prostitution by secretly throwing bags of money through the windows into their home. This incident is the inspiration for the tradition of leaving gifts in shoes or stockings on St. Nicholas Day.  We also know him as an exemplar of mercy, which fits nicely with generosity (and with the image of Santa Claus).  

The first millennium also highly valued a different St. Nicholas story. This one tells how he appeared in a dream to the Emperor Constantine. The dream-Nicholas was pleading on behalf of three men who had been imprisoned unjustly. After learning that the official who was holding the men had a similar dream, and that the men had been praying for Nicholas’s help, the emperor set them free.

Striking a Blow for the Truth

     Then there’s yet another old story about St. Nicholas. This one has recently enjoyed new popularity. Nicholas was attending the Council of Nicaea in 325. There, in a fit of anger, he slapped Arius, the founder of the Arian Heresy.  This story has an irresistible appeal for many Catholics involved in apologetics, particularly when cast as a humorous contrast to affable image of Santa Claus. The Saint’s slap is often upgraded in these accounts to a more manly punch.  

One can find numerous reproductions online, for instance, of ancient frescoes depicting the incident. These often have captions such as: “I came to give kids presents and punch heretics . . . and I just ran out of presents!”  I have to admit, I have chuckled at some of these myself.  At the same time, it would seem that smacking Arius, heresiarch though he was, falls a little short of the Christian Charity test. The council fathers thought so, at least. It seems that they “deprived [Nicholas] of his episcopal insignia and committed him to prison.”

Salvation From Sin

There is a happy ending for Nicholas, however. Jesus himself freed him from prison and restored him to his bishopric. We can take that as confirmation, I suppose, that despite his impulsiveness, Nicholas’s heart was in the right place. In any case, the incident illustrates another important aspect of the Saint: a man fiercely dedicated to preserving and defending the Truth.

     Now, there may seem to be an incongruity between the Jolly Old Saint Nick who comes to the aid of poor maidens and innocent prisoners on the one hand, and the righteous crusader who puts a whuppin’ on heretics on the other, but that’s not the case.  The salvation that Jesus lived, suffered and died to bring us is salvation from sin. This is not rescue from discomfort or physical hardships.  What could be more generous or merciful than rescuing a brother from sin, or even more so, preventing him from leading others into it?  

Lover and Fighter

Granted, we are called to do so with love (Ephesians 4:15). Given that, I wouldn’t recommend emulating St. Nicholas’s smackdown of Arius.  Nevertheless, St. Nicholas embodies an important truth. He shows us that Generosity and Mercy are not opposed to Justice and Truth. They are, indeed must be, different sides of the same coin, as Scripture attests:

Show us thy steadfast love, O LORD,
and grant us thy salvation.
Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.  (Psalm 85:7-11)

That’s not a bad thing to reflect on this week as we celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas, Bishop, Lover, and Fighter.

Featured image top of page: St. Nicholas Gives Alms, by Jan Jiri Heinsch, 1685