Claus, Krampus, or Christ?

I am fully aware that Christians of good faith may have dramatically different positions on the person of Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, or any of the other names the Jolly Old Elf may have around the world. We think of Santa with his naughty and nice lists. In our childhood wonderland, we struggled to comprehend just how he could track all the children in the whole world, how he could fit all those toys into one sleigh, and how he could manage to get the whole job done in just one night! It was just amazing.

 

Of course, in our western version of Santa Claus, every child eventually gets on the nice list, and every child SHOULD get a present from Santa. However, it turns out that in other parts of the world Santa has a sidekick and not every child makes the nice list. According to Bavarian tradition Krampus follows after Santa and punishes those children who are not on the nice list.

When it comes to the secular portion of the Christmas story, it’s obvious that the theology just doesn’t match up. While we like to think of good people of all ages during the holiday season, we know that it is because we are exactly the opposite of good that Jesus Christ came in the first place. We are, all of us, adults and children, male and female, every race, every culture, every nationality, in desperate need of forgiveness. So, because your name and my name, indeed every single one of our names are absent from the “nice” list, Christ came into the world to give the greatest gift of all, His righteousness.

We know this is the greatest gift of Christmas, not I-pads, X-boxes, or a Lexus, not whatever is hot with Neiman Marcus this season. The simple gift that no one can top, the gift of a clean heart, not a reward for having a clean heart, but actually granting that change of heart we all need. This means the greatest gift you could ever give this Christmas is the gift of introducing someone to the Child in the manger, the Savior upon the cross, and the King rising from the grave.

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Craig