NOT Related to Today’s Bible Reading!

            Some of you may know that December 6 is St. Nicholas Day, a day some folks celebrate by placing coins in their children’s shoes or by the giving of gifts.

            It’s all legendary and as such it’s hard to separate truth from fiction.  But St. Nicholas was a fourth-century bishop of Myra, a city in Asia Minor.  The story goes that Nicholas was orphaned at a young age and used his inheritance to help the poor.  One story of his alms-giving has the good bishop tossing a bag of money through a window to prevent three poor, young girls from being forced into a life of prostitution.  Hence, the tradition of gift-giving St. Nick. 

            What I didn’t know was that there is a tradition that says Nicholas attended the Council of Nicea in AD 325.  Legend has it that the good bishop was so ticked off at the heretic Arius (whose false teachings had caused the council to be called in the first place) that he walked across the room and slapped the heretic across the face.  Nicholas was imprisoned for conduct unbefitting a bishop, but Jesus appeared to him, releases his chains, and gave him a copy of the Gospels to occupy him.  When his jailers returned the next morning they were surprised to find him unbound and peacefully reading the Scriptures.

            The moral of the story?  I don’t know.  How does this sound?  Let your faith shine in works of charity and in zeal for the Lord’s truth!

            (For what it’s worth, you can find more here:  http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/home/.)