Tuesday, December 16, 2014

How Do You See Him?

Having been through the “Is Santa Claus real?” phase of my children’s lives, I hadn’t really thought much about the original St. Nick until recently. A new friend gave me a ceramic St. Nicholas, about two feet tall, wearing a red robe with white trim. He now sits on a table as you enter my brightly decorated living room.

So, what’s so newsworthy about this gift? First, the giver crafted him by hand. That’s always special. Second, it was a complete surprise. Third … perhaps a bit of explanation.

I’m a very light-skinned white woman with blue eyes. I live in a southern state where blacks and whites view each other with suspicion—especially in these last few racially charged weeks. My very brown-skinned St. Nick is a treasure from a black woman I have known about a month.

Considering our short friendship, how did we overcome the barriers that would normally separate us from each other?

We met as peers, found common interests, laughed at silly stuff, recommended favorite books, shared our visions of a preferred future, and formed a lifelong friendship. Sometimes we talked about race and the ridiculous notion that skin color would have any effect on our opinion of each other.

What does this story have to do with the Christmas message? St. Nicholas, the original Santa Claus, may briefly reign on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas Day Jesus Christ reigns as the infant King. He came to earth as a Middle Eastern Jewish male. Color, race, gender—none of these keep me from calling Him Lord.

Jesus—God incarnate—was not lily white.

“Some children see him
Dark as they
Sweet Mary's son
To whom we pray
Some children see him
Dark as they
And, ah
They love him, too

“The children
In each diff'rent place
Will see
The baby Jesus' face
Like theirs
But bright
With heav'nly grace
And filled
With holy light

“O lay aside
Each earthly thing
And with thy heart
As offering
Come worship now
The infant king
'Tis love
That's born tonight.”
—from the song “Some Children See Him”