The Gifts of the Magi

Matthew 2:1,2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

 

 The Christian celebration of epiphany involves the travels of 3 wise men- commonly thought to be scholars/astronomers (recently a newly translated Syriac text –The Revelation of the Magi” identifies the magi as “Those who pray in silence.”) Most significantly, these men were not Jews or Christians, they were gentiles; people from outside of the Hebrew culture who were searching for a miracle. Not material wealth or intellectual status, they had that. These men understood the poverty of their souls and sought, with all earnest and amazing perseverance, to find the promised riches of new life.

Matthew 2: 9-11 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 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 and of incense and of myrrh.

Gold: incorruptible immortal precious metal of the sun, symbol of divinity and royalty,
Frankincense: Exotic resin of divine communication and healing, and
Myrrh: in Arabic called “bitter”, the sweet resin of tears for healing and anointing, in life as at death, a symbol of fragile humanity.

But whenever a gift is given, a gift is received. And on this 12^th night, it was the magi who received a gift. They received the gift of an epiphany – the remembrance of a truth they had always known:  That God is revealed to the hopeful, the faithful, to those who have time to see. Here in a manger they found the Christ child, and in Him they saw a new light; a light that was reflected in their own hearts, a light for everyone – the light of the world.

And so it was that the magi came to find the Christ child and became truly wealthy, for they discovered the light of the world, the gift of truth and love, Jesus the Christ. And while their worldly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, symbolized divine importance of the birth of this child, the true gifts of the magi were these: hope, time and faith.

The gift of hope.  Hope that their emptiness of spirit would be filled when they reached their journey’s end.  Hope that spurred them to action; to risk all material wealth and seek the most important gift of a lifetime.

The gift of time.  We have no accurate record of the length of time it took for the Magi to reach Bethlehem. It may have taken months to years.  They set out on their journey with no time limitations in mind.  They set out to seek a miracle for whatever length of time it took. 

The gift of faith; faith that their journey would lead them to the truth, the light of the world. And it did.

 

May you have the wondrous opportunity to exchange gifts, to realize that all you need is already with you - hope, time, faith. Let these draw you into the presence (no pun intended) or the True Self, the Image of God Self, the enlightened Mind of Christ, the one who is "The Light of the World."

 

Epiphany Blessings! Peggy