Lisa Sheffler, author
Day 3| Gifts for the King
(Continued from yesterday)
So they rode away; and the star stood still,
The only one in the grey of morn;
Yes, it stopped—it stood still of its own free will,
Right over Bethlehem on the hill,
The city of David, where Christ was born.
And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
And only a light in the stable burned.
And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The child, that would be king one day
Of a kingdom not human, but divine.
His mother Mary of Nazareth
Sat watching beside his place of rest,
Watching the even flow of his breath,
For the joy of life and the terror of death
Were mingled together in her breast.
They laid their offerings at his feet:
The gold was their tribute to a King,
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete,
The myrrh for the body’s burying.
And the mother wondered and bowed her head,
And sat as still as a statue of stone,
Her heart was troubled yet comforted,
Remembering what the Angel had said
Of an endless reign and of David’s throne. (to be continued…)
From “The Three Kings” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1905
The first Bible verse my oldest daughter learned is Matthew 2:10. I’m sure her teacher picked it because it was short, but she loved the verse because it reminded her of Christmas, and that we should be excited about Jesus all year long. She was only three when she memorized “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”
There is a lot packed in those few words. The Greek phrase that is translated “overjoyed” literally says: “rejoiced with an exceedingly great joy.” That’s a lot of joy!
We’re continuing our journey with the Magi this week. Imagine their excitement, when, after a long journey over tough terrain, they had finally found the one they’d come so far to see.
Read
Matthew 2:9-12
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Reflect
Most of us imagine the approach of the Magi resembling Longfellow’s poem above. Our nativity scenes show us the Magi and shepherds worshiping Jesus side by side, but scholars think that the Magi’s arrival would have been sometime after the night of Jesus’s birth. He may have been anywhere from a few months old to two years of age.
The Magi worship Jesus. Grown men bow down before a child. They offer him costly gifts fit for a king. Once again Matthew wants his readers to know that not only was Jesus’ birth supernatural, but all signs point to his being the true Messiah of Israel.
We find gold valuable today, so we have no trouble seeing it as an appropriate gift for a king. Frankincense was a rare and costly incense. Myrrh was expensive anointing oil. All would be seen as worthy offerings to a king or to a deity. Some believe the gifts had symbolic meanings and associate the gold with Christ as King, frankincense with his priestly function, and myrrh as prefiguring his death and embalming. More recent scholars disagree, but those associations have found their way into our Christmas stories, as Longfellow’s poem demonstrates.
The gifts don’t have to have symbolic meaning to be significant. Not only did these Magi travel a great distance to see Jesus, they treat him as both god and king. They gave extravagant gifts to a child of infinite worth.
Presents have become a big part of Christmas. From the beginning of November to Christmas Eve, advertisers use every means at their disposal to lure us into buying more and more. There is nothing wrong with giving and receiving gifts. There is such joy and anticipation in watching someone you love unwrap a present that you’ve given them. Many of us feel especially loved and appreciated when we receive a thoughtful gift. But our generosity to one another would be impossible without the gifts given to us by God who gives us life and breath and everything else.
We cannot out-give God because everything is already his. But we can honor him by offering our time, talents, resources and money to his kingdom causes. And at Christmas we can honor him by giving him our worship for the amazing gift of his Son. How can you worship him today?