Contemplative Bible Reading

Luke 1:51-54 (New Living Translation)

51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.

These verses are from the last half of the song of Mary, mother of Jesus, when she visited her cousin Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. This song of Mary is often called “The Magnificat.”

The title of this blog post is from an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church in 1897. Church’s piece was in response to a letter from a little girl named Virginia who asked, “Is there really a Santa Claus?”

The connection? Simple. The “proud and haughty ones” are scattered. The American Standard Version uses the phrase “He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.” Those of this earth who are so smart as to deny anything special and good as folly (Santa Claus) are scattered to the winds by God and sending His Son to earth to save us from ourselves.

That was the topic of the Santa Claus editorial. There are things here on earth that go beyond the physical sciences. There are super natural things from God that defy explanation. People love others and give to others without any anticipation of return. That makes no sense to the “the proud and haughty ones.”

The Santa Claus editorial was printed year after year for many years. Finally, the proud and haughty ones took over the newspapers and stopped printing it. They were too embarrassed by the close relation of the editorial to the Bible. They stopped it. Folly.

God is super natural. God is beyond the laws of nature explained by the physical sciences. God is not Santa Claus; Santa Claus does not represent God. Santa Claus does represent something good that goes beyond logical explanation. That is a step from the wisdom of man towards God. It may be a teeny, tiny step, but it is a step.

Yes, Virginia, there is good in this evil world that cannot be explained by the wise. Thank you, God.