Pause for Prayer: 12/6 Saint Nicholas Day!

Today (December 6) is the feast of St. Nicholas,
    known as a friend of the poor and a giver of gifts...

Saint Nicholas (the fourth century bishop of Myra, a province of Asia Minor) is the subject of many legends, arcing through centuries until he was distorted into the character from the North Pole.  

The red-vested cleric also enjoys the lead in Benjamin Britten's cantata, Saint Nicholas. The lyrics (by Eric Crozier) tell the life and legends of Nicholas, all of which you can read about and listen to here. (Audio of a portion of the cantata follows today's Prayer below.)

Hagiographical research reveals that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of: Bakers, Barrel Makers, Brewers, Brides, Captives, Children, Dock Workers, Fishermen, Greece, Grooms, Judges, Lawsuits lost unjustly, Longshoremen, Merchants, Murderers, Pawnbrokers, Pharmacists, Pilgrims, the Poor - and that's not even the whole list!

In some countries the 6th of December (not the 25th) is the day for gift-giving - so you might want to surprise a family member, a friend - or someone in need - with a gift today. 

Let's Pause for Prayer...

Lord, 

    while I'm shopping for gifts for family and friends,
    while I'm buying and hanging Christmas lights and decor,

    while I'm splurging on parties and open-house feasts,

    while I'm giving so much to so many people

        who already have so much more than they need
    keep me mindful of your humble birth in a manger
        and generous Saint Nicholas, a faithful bishop 

            and friend to the poor, the outcast and laborers...

As I spend and charge and take care of my own

    don't let me forget the poor and the needy

        and the claim they have on the bounty that's mine...

       

Amen.

 

Here's just a portion of Benjamin Britten's Saint Nicholas.  This is Part VIII in which the chorus sings of Nicholas' piety and good works.

 

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For forty years our Nicolas,
Our Prince of men, our shepherd and
Our gentle guide, walked by our side.
We turned to him at birth and death,
In time of famine and distress,
In all our grief, to bring relief.

He led us from the valleys to
The pleasant hills of grace.
He fought to fold us in from mortal sin.
O! he was prodigal of love!
A spendthrift in devotion to us all,
And blessed as he caressed.
We keep his memory alive
In legends that our children
And their children's children treasure still.

A captive at the heathen court
Wept sorely all alone.
"O Nicolas in here, my son!
and he will bring you home!"

"Fill, fill my sack with corn," he said,
"We die from lack of food!"
and from that single sack he fed
A hungry multitude.

Three daughters of a nobleman
Were doomed to shameful sin,
Till our good Bishop ransomed them
By throwing purses in.

The gates were barred,
the black flag flew,
Three men knelt by the block
But Nicolas burst in like flame,
And stayed the axe's shock!

"O help us, good Nicolas!
Our ship is full of foam!"
He walked across the waves to them
And led them safely home.

He sat among the Bishops who
Were summoned to Nicaea:
Then rising with the wrath of God
Boxed Arius's ear.

He threatened Constantine the Great
With bell and book and ban,
Till Constantine confessed his sins
Like any common man!

Let the legends that we tell,
Praise him with our prayers as well...

We keep his memory alive
In legends that our children and
Their children's children treasure still..... 

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