A little girl and her mother were looking at the Nativity scene. The mother was explaining that the Wise Men were presenting their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn King. The little girl looked in great adoration at the babe in the manger, then turning to her mother, thoughtfully asked, "Why didn't they bring Him a bed?" (Msgr. Arthur Tonne - Jokes Priests Can Tell)
Why was baby Jesus given Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?
At best, there are two ways of giving gifts. First, is a gift-giving according to the mode of the giver. The giver thinks of what can make the recipient happy. He buys it and offers it to the recipient. However, there are times that the gift is useless in the sense that the recipient does not need it. The second one is a gift-giving according to the mode of the receiver. The giver asks the recipient of what he wants as a gift. This is difficult to do because it might happen that the giver cannot afford to give a gift that is being asked for. But in this case the gift is useful to the recipient.
In our Gospel according to Matthew 2: 1-12, it states that a star in the East appeared and it revealed that the Son of God was born. This is what Epiphany means –the unveiling of the true identity of Jesus as the Son of God. Now, the three wise men searched where Jesus was and with the guidance of the star, they finally found Him. They fell down and worshiped him. They knew and they believed that Jesus is the Son of God. What then was the gift that befits a Son of God? What did God want the three magi to offer? Well, the wise men recognized Jesus as the Son of God and they gave Him their best. One of the gifts was gold. Gold symbolizes power. When a magus offered it to Jesus, it symbolizes that act of surrendering to Jesus one’s power. Jesus is powerful being Son of God and one is secure under His power. Another gift was frankincense. Frankincense is used in the church or temple while praying. It is believed that a prayer goes up as a sweet odor to heaven like the smoke of incense. It is also used for worshiping God. When a magus offered it to Jesus, it affirms that Jesus is the Son of God as He deserves one’s prayer and worship reserve for God. The last gift was the myrrh. Here comes a problem because myrrh is mostly used to embalm the dead because it had the property to preserve. If one has to give it to someone, it seems it is more of an insult than a gift. Well, when the magus offered it to Jesus, it represents the act of giving up one’s fear of death. A normal person is afraid of death. But because of Jesus, there is now hope for an everlasting life and death has no more power over mankind.
Today as we celebrate the feast of Epiphany, we have to reflect on what we can offer to Jesus. Most of the time, we ask Him to give us something like good health, job money, etc. But this time, we also have to give back to Jesus ourselves as an act of gratitude and recognition that He is the Son of God.
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