Sermon 10 December 2023 – St Nicolas (Patronal Festival) – Second Sunday of Advent – St Nicolas Cranleigh – Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10a, Matthew 15.29–37

Little over a year ago, Rosemarie and I were in Oxford, and we had not the faintest idea where we would be going in the summer. In early October, we were looking at the various options, and of course there were many good reasons to get very excited about St Nicolas here in Cranleigh. But one of the reasons was that we have quite a special connection with St Nicolas. He is, by far, the most revered saint in The Netherlands. Even in the very protestant parts of The Netherlands that are normally very suspicious of saints, Saint Nicolas is loved and adored.

And that is because, we believe, that after his tenure as a bishop in Myra – which is in modern-day Turkey, he peacefully retired to Spain, from which he travels once a year, by steamboat, to The Netherlands. When he arrives in The Netherlands, he gets off the boat on his horse, and, assisted by his Petes, travels over the roofs of our houses. In every house where a shoe has been put out next to the fire place, and a carrot or radish with a bowl of water for the horse, Saint Nicolas gets in through the chimney leaves a present, while his horse takes a bite of the carrot or radish and a sip of the bowl of water. And of course, for faithful Dutch people abroad, Saint Nicolas kindly makes a detour. So, this week, on the eve of his feast day, we faithfully put out our shoes, and indeed, St Nicolas did not disappoint. I asked him also if he could do something for the children at St Nicolas, and he said he would try, so let’s give him a bit more time and see what happens with those shoes we put out earlier!

But I probably should also say something else: We, Dutch people, like the English, are a very modest and restrained people. We don’t ask for much. Give us a cup of coffee and a piece of cake and we’ll call it a party. And for Christmas, a book or a bottle of wine is a perfectly adequate present. There is no need for big things.

So, in The Netherlands, not wanting to appear greedy or egotistical, we just modestly put out one single shoe. We are not asking St Nicolas for much, just for a little.

This is us as adults. However, my three-year-old daughter Sophie had quite a different idea in mind: She put both her boots next to the fireplace, for St Nicolas, to fill up with, as she put it, ‘all the presents’. When we tried to make clear that St Nicolas would certainly not give more if she put out both boots, she got quite angry. She wanted two boots full of presents from St Nicolas.

And reflecting on it, I think she was probably right.

Because both our readings of today, set for St Nicolas day, tell of God’s amazing generosity. The prophesy from Isaiah looks forward to that future that God will get all people together, and provide them with a meal. Not just a meal to get by, to get enough calories for the day, perhaps a simple sandwich, no, an extravagant feast of rich food and well-aged wines.

And in our Gospel reading we can find the disciples looking around for shops, looking around for some food, maybe to get the crowds a small snack to still the worst hunger, and ultimately they find seven loaves and a few small fish. And Jesus then multiplies this into not just something that is enough for a snack for everyone, enough to begin on the journey home, but something that fully satisfies 4000 people and then leaves seven more baskets full of food.

These stories tell us that the God we believe in is good and generous, far beyond what we would expect. A God who does not just want us to survive, but to thrive. To have life, as Jesus says in John’s Gospel, and have it in all its fulness.

Our Church this weekend actually reflects this message very well. Of course, we don’t ‘need’ so many Christmas Trees. But their beauty, and the love, care and effort that has been put into this by so many volunteers, does mean that the beauty, light, and joy of Christmas shines brightly in this Church and points people to Jesus as God’s great Christmas gift. And of course, so does the great number of toys here today that will be given to children in need this Christmas.

Because the overabundance of good things in our first reading, the seven baskets of food in our Gospel reading, and the beauty of this church this weekend all reflect and point to the great gift God has given at Christmas.

Because Jesus is the most surprising and greatest gift of all.

Many people and religions imagine God as a supreme ruler somewhere above who orders everyone below him around. But the story of Christmas tells us that our God is very different. It tells us that God decides to send his Son Jesus into this world, and the supreme God who is infinitely powerful comes to change our world from within. This is God going above and beyond, offering far more than we could ever have imagined. Not just what we need or we think we need, not just enough to get by, but far more. God offers a new life with him, that goes on forever, and that can be described as the best feast meal we can possibly imagine.

God is offering us to live life in all its fullness, and that is already beginning now. Very early on in Christianity, the miracle of the loaves and fishes and Jesus’ generosity in feeding thousands with them was seen as pointing to Holy Communion, to the bread and wine Jesus’ followers share with each other.

Today we are invited at this table of Holy Communion. And as we share bread and wine, and share in the Body and Blood of Jesus, may we also long this Advent for the coming of that future heavenly feast, where all peoples will sit at God’s table and enjoy his goodness and generosity that goes far beyond any of them could ever have imagined.

Amen.