Readings for Epiphany:
Isaiah 60:1-6, 9; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
January 4, 2004
The Rev. Mary B. Blessing
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Well, here we are. Another Christmas gone. Many breathe a sigh of relief. Gifts are exchanged, boxes put away, the tree is down. But before we take off running too fast from the season of giving, let us pause a moment to reflect upon the gifts given, and gifts received.
What gift did you receive this Christmas that really made your heart glad? Was there one special thing someone gave you, or did for you as a gift, that made you very happy? Will you always treasure that gift? Will you always remember the person who gave you the gift because you know they understood how to make you feel really good? Did that gift bring you a special sense of being honored by the gift-giver in such a way that you will always remain fond of that person, even long after the gift is old, used up, and discarded?
Or, did you give someone a special gift this Christmas? Was there a special person, whom you love in some special way, that you wanted to honor by giving that one unique gift that only you could offer, that let the person know just how deeply your love goes? Will you and that person remain fond of one another long after the glow of that gift has faded?
If you either received or gave such a gift this Christmas, then you probably understand the importance of the journey the wise men made when they traveled far to lay special gifts at the feet of baby Jesus, paying homage to this child.
Matthew's gospel tells us of magi from the East, whom we call, "wise men", who travel far, seeking the "child who was born King of the Jews." These men are not Jews, they are gentiles. Matthew does not actually call them "Kings", but rather, "magi." Tradition has made them into Kings, and some times astrologers, or magicians. But Matthew's word "magi" is most appropriately understood in the context of its time in Persia, as a "king maker". (according to historians such as Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews) That is, the magi were a class of priests, who formed a council whose duties included the election of the king. (A. Holmstead, History of the Persian Empire.)
These magi are wealthy. They bring gifts to the baby Jesus worthy of a King-Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold, an obviously important gift to be given to one who would be king; frankincense, a valuable resin used in worship at the temple, therefore underscoring the kind of messiah, or King, that Jesus would be-a priestly King; and myrrh, a sweet-smelling spice used as a perfume when embalming a dead person, perhaps a sign of the death which Jesus would suffer, and the love his followers show as they looked for his body. Oh, but myrrh was also used to sooth irritations of the skin - so maybe these "wise men" brought the myrrh for Mary to use as a salve for the baby's diaper rash!
Matthew tells us of these men and their generous gifts because Matthew wants his readers to 1) appreciate that even non-Jews recognized Jesus as the Messiah; and, I believe, 2) Matthew wants us to offer our greatest gift to Jesus and to pay him homage, just as these foreign visitors did thousands of years ago.
What does it mean for us to offer our greatest treasure to Jesus? Jesus is no longer this innocent baby, born into humble poverty. Jesus is, for us, the Christ, the source of all truth, the indescribable power that dwells in our hearts, giving us access to God. Christ is the "mystery" which was made known to Paul by revelation, as he tells us in his letter to the Ephesians. Christ is that truthbearer who leads each of to want to give all that we have, all that we are, to those in need, for in so soing we give God's hope which was born in Jesus Christ that Christmas long ago. Have you ever been moved to give all that you have, all that you are, to another?
Do you remember the short story "Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry? It is the sotry of Della and Jim, a young couple in love, but very poor. It is the day before Christmas. Della is distressed. She has no gift for her husband. She counted every pennie in the pennie jar, and she has only $1.87. One dollar and 87 cents-you cannot buy much of a gift with $1.87.
Della and Jim have 2 prized possessions: one is a gold watch passed from Jim's grandfather to Jim's father and now to him. He carries the watch with pride, even though it has no gold chain to secure it in his pocket.
The other prized possession, of which Della is expecially proud, is her long, flowing, golden brown hair. Hair so beautiful, the Queen of Sheba or King Solomon in all their glory would have been shamed. Her flowing curls fall well below her knees, wrapping around her as a full garment. Standing before the worn glass, she suddenly gets an idea-and pulls her hair up in a bun, throwing on her old brown hat and jacket, and goes out in to the cold.
She runs quickly to the hair shop, where she sells her prized possession for $20. Long, flowing curls gone, she takes the $20 and ransacks the stores until she finds the perfect present for her dear husband-a platinum fob chain, worthy of The Watch.
Worried that her short, tight curls will cause her husband to think her a "Coney Island Chorus girl", she says a little prayer just before he enters for dinner "Please God, make him think I am still pretty." As he steps in, looking thin and very serious, Jim stops inside the door, eyes fixed upon his wife, an expression in his eyes she could not read--it terrified her. A peculiar expression-not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nothing she had prepared for. He simply stared.
Quickly she moved toward him, begging him to be happy, explaining that she cut her hair and sold it to give him the best Christmas present ever. He could only respond, "You cut off your hair?" as if he had not seen the obvious. After a few awkward moments he takes a package from his pocket and throws it on the table, for Della. He asks her to unwrap her gift, to see just why he is in such shock.
She nervously unwraps the string and paper-and there lay The Combs. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell with jewelled rims, to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. Expensive combs, which she had admired and craved to own, without any real expectation that they would ever be hers.
Finally, Jim opens his gift, the precious metal chain for his prized Gold Watch. Della eagerly asks him to give her the watch to see how the chain looks with it. But Jim does not produce the watch, instead he tumbles down on the couch and puts his hands under the back of his head and smiles. "Dell," said he,"let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just now. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. Now, suppose you put the dinner on."
Some would say Della and Jim were two fools, not wise as the Magi, giving wise gifts, bringing useful gifts to the manger. Some would say these two were unwise to sacrifice for each other the greatest treasures of their house, but others would say that all who give such gifts as these two are the wisest, as they give what they treasure most to the ones they love the most.
O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi" reminds me of a child I knew years ago, whose grandmother suffered from cancer. During her chemo treatments, the grandmother lost all her hair. Her granddaughter was sad to see her suffer the pain of chemotherapy and the embarrassment of no hair, so the granddaughter offered to cut her hair for a wig for grandma. In fact, her hair was not suitable for grandma's wig, but this big-hearted 10 year old did find an opportunity to donate her hair for the benefit of others who had no hair. Now I hear more and more of children offering their greatest gift, the gift of hair, to other children. Have you heard of "Locks of Love"? It is a non-profit organization that collects hair to create special wigs for children who have permanent hair loss.
As we wrap up this time of gift giving and move into the New Year, let us not forget to seek ways we can offer our greatest gift, the gift of ourselves, in service to Christ's children who are less fortunate than us. As the Magi traveled far and risked their lives to give their most treasured gifts to our Lord, so, too are we to seek far and wide for opportunities to give all that we have, all that we are, to show the world that Christ is born, that Christ lives today.
AMEN.
| Updated 1/6/04 |
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