Is Santa Claus…God? – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Preview

Is Santa Claus…God? 

Of course not, but they sure do share some characteristics, don’t they?  When we think of God, while we Christians do not believe Santa Claus is real, the typical cultural conception of God is very similar to the typical cultural conception of Santa Claus.  Both are all-seeing benevolent givers of gifts who live in faraway places.  Both are grandfatherly white men with white hair and a beard. They are also both somewhat mysterious.  Both have a supernatural ability to live forever.  Both are able to seemingly be everywhere at once. 

What we do not typically think of when we think of God, however, is a tiny newborn baby, frail, helpless, and totally dependent on its parents.  Yet that image, a baby, is precisely the true image of God who we celebrate at Christmas.  That true God, that baby, is what caused the angels to burst forth in praise. Just outside the town where the baby was born, an angelic choir totally shocked a group of shepherds.  Those angels singing about God the baby, said the shepherds should head into town right away and see the child for themselves.  God had come.

Just like the angels, we praise God every Christmas because of that baby.  We praise God because that baby is God.  Santa isn’t God, but that baby is God.  And what’s more, God the baby has come, bringing salvation.

As we continue our Advent series looking at a variety of genres of psalms, we’ve studied psalms of lament, confession, thanksgiving, ascent, and this coming week, as we celebrate Christmas, we study Psalm 98, a psalm of celebration that points us to the salvation we can experience because of God the baby.

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash