Feast of St. Nicholas
St. Mark’s 12-step Eucharist, December 6, 2023
If you have been at this 12-step Eucharist in December, you have heard a homily about St. Nikolas. I apologize, because you are going to hear about him again. I am powerless over St. Nikolas. He has become a significant figure in my life. It is possible that in December, I replace my addiction to alcohol with an addiction to St. Nikolas.
Little is known about Nicholas, bishop of Myra, who lived in Asia Minor around 342. He was probably at the Council of Nicaea in 325. He is the patron of seafarers, sailors, and especially children. As a bearer of gifts to children, his name was brought to America by the Dutch colonists in New York, where he soon became known as Santa Claus.
The feast day of St. Nicholas, today, December 6th, was celebrated in our family as a major holiday. We began with a big family meal together. My husband dressed up as Bishop Nicholas with a beard, a miter, a crozier, and a long red stole, and came to visit our grandchildren after dinner. He spoke Greek to the children and the adults. Speaking Greek is my husband’s favorite pastime, and of course, you know that Nikolas is Greek. Our grandchildren then went into the bedrooms and left their shoes outside the doors, and Bishop Nicholas placed chocolate coins and presents in their shoes. If you want to see our pictures of this family event, they are stunning.//
Why am I sharing with you our family story? Yearly, I remember how I sat and watched this pageant and was filled with so much gratitude, for my sobriety date is close to the feast day of St. Nicholas. Each year, I remember that if someone had not led me to recovery, I would not be alive tonight. I would not have witnessed this wonderful blessing of seeing my children and grandchildren giggle with glee as they tried to respond to a beautiful older man with a fake beard speaking Greek to them/ and secretly giving them candy in their shoes. For me, it is a yearly reminder to keep working the 12 steps, so I can be around to remember and treasure the next feast day of St. Nicholas./
This is a suggestion. Look at the calendar of saints. Find one close to your sobriety date or an important event in your life. Learn about that saint. Observe that saint’s day in your home, in your life. You might consider that saint as your patron saint.
This is simply one more way to remember how our sobriety has transformed our lives. Spend that saint’s day giving thanks for those before us,/ who loved us before we were born,/ developing a program before we were born to save our lives. This love only comes from the love of the God of our understanding. My hope is that we will all pay this love forward, giving back God’s love to a world so desperately needing it.
A secret./ St. Nikolas may make an appearance Sunday night at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Little Rock, at the Christingle Service at 5 pm on December 17.
Joanna joannaseibert.com