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Living
Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh
January
6-7, 2007
Matthew
2:1-12
The
most foundational truth of the Christian life can be located
in today's gospel of the Epiphany. But it is a lesson that
we often miss. We miss it because we are not looking in the
right place. In today's gospel, it is difficult to keep your
eyes off of the wise men. They are foreign and mysterious.
They come from the East in their exotic robes, riding their
peculiar camels, following the star. But when we focus on
the wise men, the theme of the gospel is about searching,
finding, and the giving of gifts. These themes, however, are
not the deepest truth of today's feast. To find that truth
we must not look at what the wise men do, but at what Jesus
does. And what does Jesus do? He receives the gifts that the
wise men offer. This action is arguably the first action of
Jesus ever recorded in the gospels: to accept the gifts that
are given. It is an action of profound significance, because
it is an illustration of what is most fundamental about the
Christian life: that being a Christian is not about what we
do, but what we accept; it is not about giving but about receiving.
Now
this is a difficult lesson for us to learn because we persist
in the misconception that our faith is primarily about us,
about what we do or what we fail to do. But our faith is not
primarily about what we do, but rather about what God does.
God has made us and saved us. God's actions are the actions
that are at the heart of the gospel. Therefore, the stance
of a Christian is primarily a stance of openness, a stance
of receptivity. It is only when we can receive the gift that
God offers that we know what salvation is truly about.
So
what is it that we are called to receive? The three gifts
help here—gold, frankincense, myrrh—value, mystery, pain.
The first gift is the gift of gold, a gift of great value
and worth. It points to the value and worth of our own lives.
We are persons of great worth. God has made us so. God has
instilled in us a dignity that is a part of who we are. That
dignity is nothing we can earn and nothing that we can lose
by failure or sin. We are called, then, to believe in our
worth and dignity even when we doubt ourselves, even when
we mess things up. The value and worth of our own being is
the first gift that God gives us. We must be willing to receive
it, if we are to be followers of Christ.
The
gift of frankincense is a mysterious perfume, and it points
to the mysterious action of God in our lives. God has a plan.
God has a plan for us and for the world. God is always working
to unfold that plan through all the relationships and opportunities
of our lives. Our life is much more than the decisions we
make, the plans that we form. Beneath our actions and our
decisions is the mysterious impulse of God, blessing us, changing
us, leading us forward. It is a mystery we cannot control.
We can only accept it and cooperate with it. That mysterious
presence of God's loving action in our life is the second
gift which God offers us. We must receive it, if we are to
understand the gospel.
Myrrh
is the ointment of death, and it points to the unavoidable
pain which is a part of all of our lives. None of us can avoid
evil or pain, whether that comes from hurt, rejection, failure,
sickness, or grief. But in faith we believe that such pain,
as real and as deep as it is, cannot negate our worth and
dignity as people. Nor can it frustrate or derail the mysterious
plan of God that somehow moves forward despite all that opposes
it. Pain in our life is unavoidable, but the reality of that
pain need not destroy us. Believing that God's plan will succeed
even in the presence of pain is the third gift that God offers
us. We must be willing to receive it, if we are to understand
the gospel.
Being
a faithful Christian is not about doing. It is about receiving.
This is why the first action of Jesus in the gospels is to
receive the gifts of the wise men. Jesus receives gold, frankincense,
and myrrh to remind us that we need to receive the value of
our own person, the mystery of God's action in our life, and
the reality that pain and evil cannot stop the plan of God.
Those are three gifts we need to receive, for it is only by
accepting them that we can follow Christ and fulfill the promise
of Christmas.
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