A great Christmas gift

Many centuries ago, the Roman Emperor, Constantine, convened a universal gathering of Christian bishops at a place called Nicea (part of the modern Turkish town of Iznik) to try to thrash out what the Christian faith actually was. It proved to be quite difficult.

One of the topics being discussed turned out to be particularly controversial. Two sides quickly formed, and it all got a bit heated. So heated in fact that a young man called Nicholas stormed across the floor of the debating chamber and punched the bishop who was speaking. The bishop was floored and suffered a broken nose. Nicholas was confined to a dungeon to cool off and was eventually released after giving a promise of future good behaviour. Nicholas shouldn’t even have been at the meeting as he wasn’t a bishop.

Although he wasn’t a bishop then, he was made a saint later. St Nicholas of Myra, the youthful hothead, became a much-loved saint. St Nicholas or, in Dutch, Sinter Klaus, our English Santa Claus, was that young man.

It is a sobering thought that Father Christmas had form for ABH and had served time.

Every now and again we are all capable of doing stupid stuff. Let’s be honest, all of us have done stupid stuff. With this knowledge painfully available to us, one great Christmas present is to dredge up from deep within ourselves a little extra patience with those who are currently doing stupid stuff.

As a combination Christmas present to the world, a Christmas good deed and New Year resolution, we could do far worse than to commit ourselves to being a bit more patient with youthful rashness.

Wishing you, when they arrive, both a merry Christmas and a happy New.

David Knight, Vicar of Fletching