December 24, 2025 – Christmas Eve
Isaiah 11.1-9
Luke 2.1-20
Santa Writ Large?
Christmas Eve 2025
The wait is nearly over. People all over the world have spent the last month preparing for his arrival, and the air of hushed expectancy and anticipation is palpably suspended here in our own sanctuary. He brings good things into every life he touches, and looms largest in the hearts of those who believe in him the most. We know him as a kind, benevolent soul, one who wants only good things for those whose lives he enters, and at this very moment, on the cusp of Christmas Day, we know in our hearts that he is already on his way.
Now depending where you sit this evening, this profile might suggest one of two different individuals. The more religiously inclined among us hear in these words a description of God, who comes to us this night in the person of Jesus Christ, who touches the souls of those who believe and who wants only the best for us all. But the same words could also apply to that jolly old elf who is in the forefront of so many of our little ones’ thoughts and hearts tonight, whose imminent arrival is also awaited with breathless anticipation, and who brings untold joy into the hearts of those who believe in him the most.
God and Santa Claus, Santa and God. Without being disrespectful to either, I can understand how the two might occasionally become confused, mistaken for one another, especially this time of year. After all, as we suggested, each is fervently awaited tonight: some folks hope for the rekindling of God in Christ in their lives at the Christmas Eve service; others can’t wait for the service to be over so they can dash home and go to sleep so Santa can come clambering down the chimney; and, truth to tell, many of us, regardless of age, are looking forward to both. Even our mental images of Santa and God are similar: don’t we envision them both with long white beards, a benevolent expression etched on a slightly bedraggled face? Granted, our mental image of Santa is probably a bit more rotund that that of the Almighty, but from what I’m told, Santa bulks up for the holiday to play the part, and like so many of us, begins his diet the first of the year. Both have a magical side: God works miracles, and Santa can circle the globe in an evening. They both bring good things into the lives of those who believe in them most, and each has a crew of helpers: God has the angels, Santa has the elves. And consider how the following line from a popular song seems especially apropos to each: “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness’ sake!” If you think Taylor and Travis make good partners, you can’t help but wonder what a merger between these two right jolly old elves might look like!
Of course, they do have their differences, God and Santa. After all, while there are twelve disciples, Santa only needs eight tiny reindeer. And while God once came to earth, born as one of us, lived as one of us, both celebrated and suffered as we do, and walked among us, you still can’t find one on every street corner and mall. But these differences are admittedly minor, and if much of our culture seems to expend more time and energy getting ready for St Nick tonight than preparing to receive the Savior whose birthday we celebrate, well, the charitable explanation has to be that it is simply an innocent case of mistaken identity.
Now I’ll admit, a comparison between God and Santa might strike us as rather facetious, if not downright irreverent, on this solemn evening. For in spite of the fact that St Nicholas is a historical character, having played a pivotal role, as we saw a couple weeks ago, in the historic Council of Nicaea in the fourth century, we all know that the popular image of Santa Claus is a far, far cry from the Creator of heaven and earth. Nobody really confuses God for Santa Claus.
Do they?
Children’s Christmas lists are great, aren’t they? Some of them read like a Toys R Us catalogue, or perhaps like mine when I was young, a litany of every television commercial they’ve seen since Thanksgiving. Others are more strategically modest, listing only the one or three things they really, really want for Christmas, wagering this will increase their chances of actually receiving them. But it is one of life’s early lessons that children do not receive everything they want for Christmas. Some accept this with a certain amount of aplomb; some are clearly disappointed. But if Santa is supposed to bring joy and gladness into the lives of little ones, when that doesn’t happen, what’s a Santa for?
It seems to me that this is one place where God can be mistaken for Santa. Ask yourselves, when do most people, religious or otherwise, pray? Isn’t it when we need something, or want something? It may be for ourselves, like a solution to a thorny personal problem. It may be for someone else, like asking a blessing in the life of a neighbor. And these are fine things to pray for. But what happens when our prayers are not answered the way we think they ought to be? We bring our lists of requests to God, however long or brief, but when we don’t get what we ask for, aren’t we a little disappointed? Or maybe, if we are let down often enough, do we begin to wonder if there even is a God? After all, isn’t it God’s job to bring joy and gladness into the hearts and lives of believers? How better to do this than to answer our prayers according to our desires? But God is not like Santa Claus. Sometimes God does not give us what we ask for, because as Isaiah inconveniently reminds us, God’s ways are not our ways, nor are God’s thoughts our thoughts. Sometimes God has another plan. Sometimes God makes us wait. And sometimes, God’s answer is, very simply, No. And the disparity between our expectations and God’s reply is not rooted in God, so much as it is in or tacit understanding of prayer as a kind of wish list. When we are ready to hear God’s answer to us regardless of what that answer might be, then we have begun to divine the difference between God and Santa.
There is another confusion between the two: legend has it that if we are good all year through, Santa will bring gifts and goodies; but if we haven’t been good, what do we get? That’s right! Coal in our stockings! Santa rewards good little girls and boys, but he isn’t quite so generous with those who have been bad all year. Or so the story goes, anyway.
And this has to be one of the greater misconceptions both within and without of the church, that God in this instance basically operates like Santa does, only instead of regulating our behavior with goodies and coal, God uses eternal reward and everlasting punishment, as though heaven were the gaily wrapped gift we find under the tree Christmas morning, and Hades the lump of coal hanging forlornly in our stocking. Now without launching into a sermon on heaven and hell this Christmas Eve, which I’m sure none of you signed up for, let me say nonetheless that God is far more compassionate toward all of us than this simplistic vision of the divine carrot and infernal stick would suggest – yes, Virginia, even more compassionate than Santa himself! God has no desire to coerce us into good behavior and right belief, for a faith thus compelled would not be faith at all; if anything it would be a result of fear most loathsome. Besides, if God, who, as Paul wrote, “is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think,” God is much more subtle, and certainly more gently refined, than to promise us treats for being good and threaten us with disappointment and pain for misbehavior.
On this night on this Christmas Eve 2025, we want to come to know God as God is, as the One who wants the very best for us, as one who loves us beyond our wildest imaginings, as one who cares so much for us as to have become one of us, in order to be able to talk to us person to person, if you will. And on this night, on this Christmas Eve 2025, a bearded old man dressed all in fur from his head to his foot is busy circling the globe, even as we speak, bringing joy and gladness into the hearts of young people and their parents everywhere. Santa is a great guy, and I sure wish I could make as many people happy as he does; still let’s remember that there is a difference between the two visitations, and I think we will do well tonight to let Santa be Santa, and God be God.
[Dolly, Family Circus: “Jesus was born just in time for Christmas up at the North Pole surrounded by 8 tiny reindeer and the Virgin Mary. Then Santa Claus showed up with lots of toys and stuff and some swaddling clothes. The 3 wise men and the elves all sang carols while the little drummer boy and Scrooge helped Joseph trim the tree. IN the meantime, Frosty the Snowman saw this star in the east, and…]