Well, It's the Twelfth day of Christmas. So, let's breakdown how each of the gifts relate to Christ...ok I'm not actually going to do that, but perhaps in the future for a Christmas post. But, this post does have to with gifts but not those of the Twelve Days of Christmas, but those of some of the most intriguing figures in the Bible, the wisemen. Now, while St. Matthew (both a patron for my brother, whose middle name is Matthew, my brother-in-law, and my Childhood parish) never lists a specific number nor the names of the wisemen; these two aspects the number (3), and the names of the wisemen (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar) are based upon traditions within the Roman Catholic Church (some of the Eastern Catholic traditions vary on number or the names of wisemen). But back to the gifts of these wisemen, which are Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh. Before I get into the specific meanings of the gifts, another name for the wisemen is three Kings. Now, it is also possible they were ambassadors of Eastern monarchs. whether they were kings or ambassadors, they were on a diplomatic journey; they were honoring Christ as a new king, adult or not. So now establishing that fact, let's get into the actual meaning.
While each gift does have a symbolic meaning, the symbolism goes much deeper and I thinks calls to mind how one should orient one's heart toward Our Lord. So let's begin with the first which is Gold.
Gold is a direct recognition of the Christ child as a king. It signifies precisely that they are here to show honor a king. Each heart should recognize this fact at a deep level. For me this means, recognizing he isn't a dictatorial king, but kind compassionate king, who cares deeply for me and about me. Realizing you are a subject of a king, is one thing, but Christ's kingships opens for us, the adoption as a child of God. So Christ's kingship opens up the opportunity to accept the identity as a prince or princess in the kingdom of heaven. It means knowing Christ is the one who directs my life, not me (which I'm continually learning day by day). Now on the to the next gift which is frankincense.
Frankincense is a substance often used in incense (interesting that it is in its name). What does this gift have to say about orienting one's heart toward Christ? Incense is used in the worship. Now, incense is not also witnessed at mass, though I do see it used more often recently. The priest will incense the altar during the begining of mass or the offerings of bread and wine which become Christ's body; other times you see incense used is during adoration when Christ is exposed in the monstrance. The presence of this gift at his birth signifies that Christ is in fact divine and deserving of worship Of course going to mass is one way to worship Christ as God, but there are of course other ways to worship Christ, one is obviously to spend time with him in prayer and even if that means silence (which is hard for me to do sometimes). One thing which can be often prayed about is the hard things in life, one of the hardest things to accept about life is its end, death. The last gift speaks to this reality, the reality of death in this world.
Myrrh reveals the reality of death as it foreshadows the ultimate death of Jesus on the cross. This is the only gift that reoccurs at the birth and death of Jesus, one was a diplomatic gift and the second instance to complete the burial process, since it had to be rushed because of the Passover Sabbath. This gift reveals the importance of preparing for death and realizing what will really matter at the end; it also reveals the importance of suffering. Christ's death was gruesome, but so was his road there; myrrh reminds us that suffering redeems and that as hard as it is to suffer, something good can come from it- this is hard to see in the moment, and in my experience is easier to see in hindsight. It also reminds us that a good way to engage in the prior gift's message- worship- is to give him your suffering and picking up one's cross, and as hard as it might be. to do so joyfully. Myrrh reminds us that physical death with occur but the death to self is a much harder road to walk- especially in this day and age when everyone is encouraged to control their own lives- as it takes great humility to say I need help or I am not going to do it my way. This requires a great amount of trust in the Lord which can be so hard for anyone, and I am discovering if one struggles finding identity in the reality of being a daughter/son of God or prince/princess in the Kingdom of God, death to self can be perhaps harder as the value of its seems so vague in many circumstances, but when you do it, the joy within the struggle becomes more worthwhile than one could have ever imagined. In myrrh, it calls us to sacrifice our wants and desires to be open to the divine author so he can write our story which will makes us experience joy beyond description, even if we aren't called to be passive actors in the story, but active participants, and some of those wants and desires may come to fruition as part of the will of the Lord. In this gift, and the others, the spiritual life's orientation becomes clear as Christ, who when he was first given it, was an infant and most did not even know he was of any true significance.
While these gifts were perhaps, initially made for a diplomatic relationship, they point way beyond this earthly aim. Each gift in its own way reveals how to orient a heart toward Christ. The way in which gold serves as a reminder of Christ's kingship, helps orient hearts toward Christ as the wisemen did, for a king deserves a certain respect, even from a prince or a princess in his house (which all person are princes and princesses in God's kingdom). Frankincense points to worship and the divinity of Christ; frankincense shows a beauty in the expression of worship as in faith it is used at different times whether it be during the Eucharist, or during adoration. Finally, the presence of myrrh reflects the need to prepare for physical death by death to self in life, and learning to trust in the Lord through the suffering death to self and physical death. Happy Epiphany!! May the Lord bless you this epiphany and may you be open to receive whatever blessing comes your way!! Come back soon to once again join me on this Merry Journey, of the beautiful story even if I don't see the purpose of a certain piece of it, called becoming the woman-God-made-me-to-be.
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