Tomorrow is January 6^th, Epiphany.  On this date we officially mark the visit of the Magi or Wise Men to the child Jesus.  Most of our nativity sets have probably had them visiting for a few weeks now.  And, if you’ve been to a children’s Christmas pageant, I’m sure you’ve seen those three kings marching in.

Today I’d like to think about the gifts they brought:  gold, frankincense and myrrh.    Strange things to bring to a little child.   It is sometimes said in jest, that if it had been three wise women, the gifts would have been diapers, blankets and little pj’s.  

A look at the familiar carol, We Three Kings, gives us a better idea.  I quote a few stanzas here to refresh our memories.

“Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign.”

Yes, that little babe in the stable and that little tot running around his parents’ little house – he was born a King.  How wise it was that these visitors knew this and came with a perfect gift of adoration.

“Frankincense to offer have I,
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Prayer and praising, all men raising,
Worship Him, God most high.”

The use of incense in religious rituals dates back thousands of years, as a symbol of sanctification and the rising of the prayers of the faithful to heaven.  With their incense, the wise men offered devout prayers and praise to the child who was God most High.

“Myrrh is mine,
Its bitter perfume breathes
A life of gathering gloom.
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.”

In their wisdom, the Magi knew what was foretold for this child.  In the most somber of moments, they offer myrrh for the sorrow and death which would come, “sealed in the stone-cold tomb.”  We’d rather not think about Good Friday while we celebrate the joy of Christmas, but this gift represents the truth to come.

And what shall we bring as our gift to the Child?  Not gold, not frankincense, not myrrh, but the gift of our heart to the one who loves us more than we can ever know.

Judy

*We Three Kings,”  Words and Music by John Henry Hopkins, 1857.