They came bearing gifts. Kings came to see the child who was born in the cave that first Christmas night. They had been expecting his birth. They left their homes in the East and followed a star. They knew this child was something more than special. Every child is special but this one was different. They brought him gifts. Three gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Why those three things? Tradition tells us the gold was for a king. The frankincense pointed to his priesthood, he was a priest of the Most High God. The myrrh was use for anointing the body of the dead. Its fragrant perfume foretold the day he would die.
The gifts of the kings tell us something about who they understood that child to be. They tell us who he was, is and shall always be. I find that they also tell me how to walk through this holiday season.
They myrrh let's each of us know that there is often pain amidst the celebrations of our lives. Pain can keep us from celebrating if we allow that to be. Or, it can remind us to celebrate what wonderful things remain in our lives. For those who have buried someone they love, the pain reminds us how much we cared and how much we are able to love.
Some have experienced losses of other kinds in the past year. Divorce, loss of a job, diagnosis of a serious illness, recognition that we have not been loved as we might want to be loved. The myrrh stands for all these things.
The gold is a very special reminder for each of us. Especially if we have known pain in the last year. The gold is that which we must strive to seek. Not the gold of money and stuff, but the gold that lasts. Each day brings gold into our lives if we will look for it. The gold of the smile of a friendly waiter, the gold of friendship, the gold of sight and breath. The gold of a child's laughter and the sun on the snow. The more we look for the gold in our lives and take the time to appreciate and be grateful for it, the more we can find joy in the midst of change or pain.
And the frankincense, the frankincense tells us how we can have eyes to find the gold. Christmas celebrates the entry of God into the world in a way that allows us to see Him, to know Him, and to allow His love to fill us and strengthen us. The decorations, the music, the celebrating all point out his grate gift of love for us. When we take the time to ground ourselves in the love of God, our eyes are open to see the gold surrounding us each day.
Yes, the pain can be there. He was given the myrrh as a birth gift. A life fully lived will hold some pain. But it holds much more gold. Celebrate his birth. Look for the gold. Seek it every day. It hides in so many nooks and crannies of our lives. You will only see it if you seek it out.
Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Let these gifts of the kings remind us all that in the midst of any pain, God is always with us and points us to the gold.
