Sunday's Message - The Gift of the Magi

During our worship service of January 9, we looked at the coming of the Wise Men. The title of the message was "The Gift of the Magi." Below is the sermon and the passage on which the message was based.

You can stream all our services live by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube channel on any Sunday, beginning at 10:00 a.m. If you miss a message or service, you can find a copy and podcast on the Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community blog (https://thenettransform.blogspot.com/). 

Matthew 2:1-12 [Contemporary English Version]

When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”

They told him, “He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,

’Bethlehem in the land

    of Judea,

you are very important

    among the towns of Judea.

From your town

    will come a leader,

who will be like a shepherd

    for my people Israel.’”

Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too.”

The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were thrilled and excited to see the star.

When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.

The Gift of the Magi

Have y’all every heard the story, “The Gift of the Magi”? Well, it was written by an American author named O. Henry and was published in The New York Sunday World on December 10, 1905. Now if you’ve never read it, it’s really pretty good, and trust me, it’s not long. You see, about this young married couple, Della and Jim Young. And using the words of the writer, 

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim’s gold watch that had been his father’s and his grandfather’s. The other was Della’s hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

Anyway, on Christmas Eve, Della discovers that she has only $1.87 to buy a present for her husband. And so, to raise a little more money, she goes to a hairdresser in the neighborhood who purchases Della’s long hair for $20. Of course, now she has the money to buy her husband the perfect gift, a platinum watch chain. Well, when Jim comes home from work that evening, Della admits to him that she sold her hair to buy him a Christmas gift. And then Jim gives Della her present–

a set of ornamental combs, which she will be unable to use until her hair grows back out. And when Della gives Jim her gift to him, he tells her that he sold the watch to buy the combs. You see, for those two people, what they gave represented a lot more than the gifts themselves. Now in a nutshell, that’s O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi.”

And I’ll tell you, I think this story has a lot to do with what we’re going to consider this morning. I mean, we’ve been talking about the coming of the Wise Men, you know, the Magi and the three gifts they brought. And you know, when we focus on those gifts, in other words, when we think about what was represented by the gold and the frankincense and the myrrh, I believe they point to three aspects of God that we can see in Jesus Christ and that we can remember as we do the best we can, playing the hand we’ve been dealt. 

For example, first, I think the gold brought by the Magi, man, that points to God’s authority. In other words, it reminds us that God has genuine power and control, something that we can certainly see in the person of Jesus Christ. Of course, it doesn’t take a Brainiac to see the relationship between gold and authority. I mean, Au has always been associated with kings and rulers. For example, just listen to how hanging out with King Solomon was like:

Solomon received about twenty-five tons of gold a year. The merchants and traders, as well as the kings of Arabia and rulers from Israel, also gave him gold.

Solomon made two hundred gold shields and used about seven and a half pounds of gold for each one. He also made three hundred smaller gold shields, using almost four pounds for each one, and he put the shields in his palace in Forest Hall.

His throne was made of ivory and covered with pure gold.

Since silver was almost worthless in those days, everything was made of gold, even the cups and dishes used in Forest Hall. [1 King 10:16-18, 21, CEV]

Let’s just say that authority and gold went together like pork and beans. And who was the one who came with great authority: Jesus Christ, right? My goodness, not only were the crowds surprised that “he taught them like someone with authority, and not like their teachers of the Law of Moses” [Matthew 7:29, CEV], but in the very last conversation he had with his disciples, “Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth!” [Matthew 28:18, CEV] I’ll tell you, given who he was, gold was a perfect gift for Jesus.

And I’ll tell you something else, I think that’s something we need to remember, particularly when our lives have become a little more chaotic and confused than we’d want them to be. I mean, we need to remember Jesus still has the authority to still the storms and to walk on water. And he still has the authority to heal the sick and to cast out the demons. And brothers and sisters, he still has the authority to lead us through whatever it is that we’re facing. And even thought we all know that he’s probably not going to make all the problems and all the pain just miraculously go away, we can be confident that the day is coming when his kingdom will be on earth just like it is in heaven. You see, when thinking about the gifts of the magi, gold reminds us of God’s authority, and that’s first gift.

And second, I think the frankincense reminds us of God’s presence, you know, that regardless of where we go or what we do, God is always close. And I believe that’s something this aromatic resin represents, and I’m talking about the divine presence. In fact, frankincense was one of the spices that went into the sacred incense that was offered before the Ark of the Covenant. Just listen to this from the Book of Exodus:

Mix equal amounts of the costly spices stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, then add salt to make the mixture pure and holy. Pound some of it into powder and sprinkle it in front of the sacred chest, where I meet with you. Be sure to treat this incense as something very holy. It is truly holy because it is dedicated to me, so don’t ever make any for yourselves. If you ever make any of it to use as perfume, you will no longer belong to my people. [Exodus 30:34-38, CEV]

Now that’s what it says. And you know, just like it was with gold, frankincense is also an appropriate gift for Jesus, because it’s through him that we encounter God. In other words, just like the incense reminded people that God was near, that’s exactly what Jesus does for us. And I’ll tell you, I believe that’s why the Evangelist Matthew wrote this before Jesus was even born: So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” [Matthew 1:22-23, CEV] And I’ll tell you something else, I think that’s why, again according to Matthew, after giving them their great commission, these were Jesus’s last words to his disciples: I will be with you always, even until the end of the world. [Matthew 28:20b, CEV] You see, through Jesus Christ, God is always with us.

And you know, I think that’s something else we need to remember, particularly when we feel isolated and alone. I mean, when we feel as thought we’ve sort of disappeared and that we’ve been left to face the worse the world can throw at us all by ourselves, we can remember that Jesus was talking to us when he said, “If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light.” [Matthew 11:28-30, CEV] You see, God is present with us, something that becomes real when we remember that the Magi brought frankincense. And that’s the second gift.

And what about gift number three? Well, I think the myrrh reminds us of God’s love, and I’m talking about a love that’s both sacrificial and undeserved. As a matter of fact, I believe it’s a lot like the kind of love we saw in the O. Henry’s story. And as it relates to God, I think it’s tied up with the spice myrrh. You see, along with it being used to make incense, you know, like frankincense, myrrh also appeared during the story of the crucifixion, when “...they offered [Jesus] wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.” [Mark 15:23, NRSV] And it was also associated with his burial. According to the Evangelist John, 

Nicodemus also came with about seventy-five pounds of spices made from myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. The two men wrapped the body in a linen cloth, together with the spices, which was how the Jewish people buried their dead. In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there. [John 19:39-42, CEV]

And so the spice myrrh was tied with both the cross and the grave. But what does this have to with love? Just listen to what Jesus said to Nicodemus a little earlier in the Gospel of John:

And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! [John 3:14-17, CEV]

I guess you could say that the cross is the ultimate sign of divine love.

And I’ll tell you, I believe that’s something we also need to remember whenever we confront the future and feel fear rather than hope. You know, when I look at what’s happening within our world but also our country, I’m reminded of that poem by Robert Frost:

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice. [Fire & Ice, 1920]

Never have these words seemed so true. And yet, the cross and the tomb reminds us that neither fire nor ice, desire nor hatred will have the last word. The future is in the hands of God, and God loves us, something that we can trust when we remember that the Magi also brought myrrh. And that’s the third gift. 

You see, when those Wise Men came to Jesus, they offered something more than tokens of their respect and devotion. With the gold, they offered a reminder of God’s authority, and with the frankincense, a reminder of his presence and with the myrrh, a reminder of his love. And I’ll tell you, that deeper meaning, well, maybe that’s just a part of these special kinds of gifts. For example, just listen to how O. Henry ended his story, “The Gift of the Magi”:

The magi, as you know, were wise men–wonderfully wise men–who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.