Unashamedly Anglican

            Every year at this time there are so many Santa Claus sightings that you have no concept of who the real one was. And, based on the lunacy in today’s culture, we probably never will. A recent poll – as if gender could be determined by popular opinion – has found that 27% of respondents think Santa Claus should be female or gender neutral (as if that is a biologically viable option). This just adds to the ridiculous myth about the jolly fat guy giving us what we want.              The problem with the current versions of Santa Claus is that they do not contain even the slightest resemblance to the original St. Nicholas of Myra. He was a bishop and a devout follower of Jesus Christ, the real reason for the season.             Too many people project onto Almighty God their perception of the qualities and characteristics they falsely believe about Santa Claus. All you have to do is sit on the big guys lap, ask him for what you want, and he will deliver it with better effi

I am always amazed at how early the Christmas “season” starts. In most parts of the country, it seems to begin after Halloween and ends after all the deals of Black Friday and Cyber Monday have expired. There is so much preparation for the big day and it all occurs before Advent begins. Thus, by the time Christmas Day arrives we are suffering from mission creep. We are tired and bored with the whole ordeal and ready for it to end. We want it over with, so we can go back to life as normal. Christmas is turned into a to-do list instead of having child-like expectations and faith. In all of this we miss the most important preparation that we sorely need.             The purpose of the season of Advent is not to have a well decorated house, gifts smartly and neatly wrapped and placed carefully under the elegantly decorated tree. This superficial preparation focuses on the temporal and not the eternal. While we do look back and remember Jesus’s first visit, we also need to look ahead t