Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Good morning, dear people.
Becki and I have a plan to drive to the nearby turnout so we can do a walk up the hill on Short Fellows Road without the dogs. I anticipate picking up a lot of beer and soft drink cans—since it’s been so long since doing that. We give them to a friend who cashes them in as a fund-raiser for BGMC (Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade). OK—here comes Becki now in the car. Time to go.
Blessings. Love, Dad/Ray.
I figured out that Santa Claus was a myth when I was 5 years old. I made waves early in life by declaring my belief to some of my kindergarten classmates—rocking their world. I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember that even the teacher was not very happy with me for tormenting my peers with such heresy. While I am reasonably tolerant of our nostalgic American traditions, there is nothing very universal and cross-cultural about them. I mean, can you imagine singing “Jingle Bells” or “Frosty the Snowman” in a little South Pacific island village?—and have those songs ring any bells of meaning? I admit that I still hold some simmering contempt for Santa Claus—simply because he’s a phony. He’s a fraud—a fake—he’s not the real deal. He’s only an empty distracting counterfeit of the real deal—the One Who is speaking in our reading.
While our cute traditional folklore claims that Santa Claus “knows when you are sleeping, and knows when you’re awake, and knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good—for goodness sake!”—Jesus, the All Knowing One, really and truly does know (See Hebrews 4:13). So why wouldn’t a person want to seek Him and partake of His goodness and grace?—for goodness sake!—for God’s sake!—for their own sake!
This claim to omniscience is repeated throughout these letters to the seven churches. I count 5 times in today’s passage alone.
- “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance” (2:2).
- “I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men…” (2:2).
- “I know your afflictions and your poverty…” (2:9).
- “I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not…” (2:9).
- “I know where you live…” (2:13).
Of course there is value in exploring what exactly it is that Jesus knows about these symbolic churches, but there is also great value in simply knowing that HE KNOWS. Coming to think of it, omniscience (knowing all) is a very logical and appropriate attribute for The One Who is the Alpha and Omega—the Beginning and the End—the One Who made everything and owns everything. How could it be otherwise?
In stark contrast to Santa Claus, Jesus Christ is absolutely relevant cross-culturally. He represents the universal solution to the universal problem of sin. Santa Claus doesn’t come close. How many people can stand and testify with face aglow and tell how their lives were changed positively by meeting Santa Claus?—maybe sitting on his knee in a department store where they poured out their greedy little hearts. The fact is, I think Santa does more to contribute to the problem than to the solution.