In our culture it may sound a little strange to say “Merry Christmas” now. More like, “Happy New Year”. But in the biblical account as well as in church tradition, Epiphany is still widely celebrated particularly more in the church in the East than in the West and especially in America. We all know the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Well, this is the 10th day of the twelve days of Christmas. So, the twelve days of Christmas lead up to Epiphany which will be this Tuesday. But today we celebrate Epiphany Sunday, when we commemorate the coming of the Wise Men to bring their gifts to Christ. In our version of Jesus’ birth, we converge all the miracles of Emmanuel (God with us) into one manger night. But when you look closely at the scriptures, the Wise Men came a little bit later. Maybe as many as 2 years later. And the commemoration of this event in church tradition has been to celebrate Epiphany on the heels of Christmas. Many of you have already put away your Christmas lights and Christmas trees and the gifts that maybe didn’t fit and brought them back and exchanged them. But today we honor that tradition and commemorate the coming of the Wise Men and the gifts they brought to Christ.
Much has been made of the Wise Men and who they were. Many believe they came from Persia. We do not know how many Wise Men came to worship Jesus. But the 3 gifts they gave led to the thought of there being 3 Wise Men. They have even been named. I will not give you the names. I get them mixed up with the 3 Musketeers all the time. But the gifts they brought are significant and highly symbolic. Let’s take a minute to talk about the gifts and particularly their rich symbolism.
The first gift mentioned was gold. – Gold was highly symbolic as a gift of royalty signifying that Jesus would be a King. Now what the Wise Men knew exactly we are not certain. But they knew Jesus would be king of the Jews as is stated in the scripture here. The significance of Jesus being the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would come to pass. But perhaps the Wise Men may have not have fully known at the time that this gift would come to represent Jesus’ Kingship through the centuries, down to the present time.
The second gift was frankincense. Frankincense was an incense often used in offering sacrifices. So, it is symbolic of Jesus being our great High Priest. Jesus as a priest offered sacrifices of prayers and intercessions. But above all He would not only offer sacrifices and prayers for us, but He would offer his own body as the supreme sacrifice for our sins. In accordance with the plan of God, Jesus would take our place and take our burden upon himself. He would satisfy the righteous demands of God that none of us in our sinful condition could ever accomplish. This leads to the third and last gift mentioned.
And the third gift mentioned was myrrh. And this is the most unusual gift that anyone would bring a child. Myrrh was a spice commonly used to anoint those who had died. Now why in the world would they bring such a gift to a child? It seems so odd, right? Certainly, the symbolism is that the Christ Child was born to die.
The gospels inform us that from Jesus’ birth the shadow of the cross was over his life. Jesus, even in His name, “Jesus” was one who was born essentially to die. But although they are separated in time, the significance of his birth and death cannot be separated in their significance for us. There is a great picture by Holman Hunt of Jesus as a young man. He is in the carpenter shop, and his mother is there working in the shop with him. And he has his hands up and in the background is the shadow of the cross. And as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we also must celebrate the reason for his coming. And the significance of the myrrh that the Wise Men brought symbolizing His death for our sins. Show picture of Jesus as carpenter
Indeed, Christ would be crucified as the Savior of the world, a Messiah unlike most of the expectations of the Jews of that day. He would be the Suffering Messiah who would bear the burden of his people and take upon himself our sins and our griefs as the prophet Isaiah spoke 700 years before Christ, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”. (Isaiah 53:5)
Now as I thought about the Wise Men and the deep symbolism and significance of the gifts that brought, I thought about lessons we might learn from them today. Most of us exchange gifts on December 25th with family and friends. Several years ago, pastor Mike Slaughter popularized the idea that turned the commercialism of Christmas around to its proper focus. His statement was simply, “Christmas is not your birthday”. Now this is not to forgo exchanging gifts at Christmas. But as we exchange gifts we might incorporate into our practice especially on Epiphany, what gifts we might give to Christ! We recognize what the Wise Men did can never be repeated. But I think in our own way on this Epiphany Sunday we might contemplate gifts we can bring to Christ as the Wise Men.
I mentioned earlier that it is often believed there were 3 Wise Men because of the 3 gifts given. With that in mind I would suggest there are 3 primary lessons regarding significant gifts that we can bring to Christ as the Wise Men.
First, Giving our Treasures
The scripture teaches the Wise Men, “opened their treasures” (Matthew 2:12)
We know these Wise Men were highly educated men and perhaps through their knowledge and experience they may have counseled with kings and rulers accumulating greater treasures than many others. They were able to attain expensive gifts which they gave to Christ.
This made me reflect over our treasures, my treasures, your treasures. What are our treasures?
Christian author and pastor, Gordon McDonald shared a story from West Africa on a mission trip. It changed forever how he viewed giving his treasures to Christ. He said he was on his way to a worship service and came across people from the region bringing items to worship. One of them had a crate filled with chickens. Another person had a sack full of yams. Another one had a carton of eggs. Another one had cassava paste. And as the service unfolded at a particular time the music started playing and people came forward. And they were singing, and clapping, and praising God. They had a place in front of the church where people came and brought their gifts, the cassava paste, the chickens, the eggs, the yams were all brought forward and presented to God. Then it began to dawn on MacDonald what these offerings meant. The eggs would be sold in the market to help those who were less fortunate. The cassava paste would be used to give to people who were hungry and really needed immediate food. The chickens would be used to help farmers who were just struggling in that industry. But in that experience of worship, he was caught up in that moment very deeply moved. And it changed him. It changed how he felt about giving gifts to God. It changed how he felt about his own offerings. He saw how those offerings were presented to God and then used to touch other people’s lives in significant ways. Here is what he noted. Our gifts may not be large or costly, but we give what we have and the best we have to God’s glory. I think that’s exactly what the Wise Men did. And I think that is what God desires from us.
As we think about this New Year and this Epiphany Sunday and the gifts to God from those Wise Men, we might think about opening our treasures and giving to Christ our best gifts. No matter the size or value, it is given to glorify God and benefit others through our mission.
Second, Giving Our Talents
I mentioned before that it is believed the Wise Men gave these gifts as a fruit of their work. Perhaps their intellectual ability, and knowledge of astronomy caused them to counsel and advise those that were in positions of authority. This would give them access to greater wealth and resources. And they simply passed on those gifts to Christ. But on the other end of the spectrum, we may feel like the little drummer boy. And it is tempting to undervalue our talents because of people who excel in certain skills. I don’t think I will be instructing Scotty Scheffler in golfing. Or I will not be instructing Steph Curry on how to shoot a basketball. I doubt I will give Paula Dean any tips on cooking! And I don’t think I will ever give Eric Clapton lessons on playing the guitar. And I’m sure I do not have the intellectual ability of these Wise Men.
But here is the reality. We all have talents and gifts and abilities in some areas. Some of them may be more physical. Some of them may be artistic. Some of them may be musical as with our musicians and choir. And some of them may be more intellectual. But we all have talents or certain skills or abilities.
I was reading about an unusual group who used their talents to glorify Christ and serve others. It is a dedicated professional group of hairdressers. They are called “HIM” – Hairdressers in the Marketplace. And they originated from the Willow Creek church in Chicago. Theresa Cox founded the ministry in 1998. She had tried to volunteer through the church in many different ministries but never really felt attached to any connection in ministry there. And she prayed for God to help her use her talent to glorify Christ. And she asked herself why God gave her a talent that is surrounded by so much vanity. She wondered how she could serve God with her talent. And she says God answered her prayers by giving her a vision for a group that not only communicates God’s love and care to people who might be in need but reached out to other stylists in the community. They go to homeless shelters. They go to nursing homes. They go to halfway houses. They go to different places where people need their particular talents. And amazingly they not only bring their scissors and blow dryers and combs, but they also bring the love of Christ. And it’s changing lives. Isn’t it amazing how we might consider such things superficial or maybe insignificant, but God can use our talents to bring glory to his name and to touch the lives of other people!
In this New Year I would want us to think more deeply about our talents and abilities even those we might think unimportant and to ask the Lord how our talent or abilities can bring glory to Christ and to touch the lives of other people. Again, that’s exactly what these Wise Men were doing.
Third, Giving Our Time
The Wise Men traveled many treacherous miles to present their gifts to the Christ Child. We don’t know how long they were on this journey. But it was a long time. Many believe the Wise Men traveled from Persia (modern-day Iran), covering 800-900 miles to reach the Holy Land, a journey taking months by caravan.
The scripture indicates that found Jesus in a house in Bethlehem (v 11), not the stable. This would indicate they arrived much later, possibly when Jesus was a toddler. I’m sure there were days when they were asking the age-old question, “Are we there yet?” “When will we ever get to see the Christ Child?” Maybe that’s one of the reasons they were overjoyed when they reached the place where Jesus was! As the song says they went over those treacherous miles “through field and fountain moor and mountain” through all kinds of dangers along the journey. This clearly shows they were deeply committed to seek and worship Christ. They risked and sacrificed a great deal to make this journey and not quit!
Recently someone asked the question, “When is the last time you risked anything for Christ?” In our context we have great freedom and lots of conveniences. Thinking of the journey of the Wise Men and contemplating that question, spoke to me about my own commitment. And I hope it will speak to you about your commitment to come and worship Christ amidst all the distractions and diversions and even difficulties.
In our own Methodist tradition, it is believed that John Wesley rode over 250,000 miles on the back of a horse preaching and teaching in many places over England to people who accepted or rejected his message. But he continued faithfully and helped bring an incredible revival to the nation. My little car has nearly 90,000 miles on it. It’s hard to imagine traveling those miles on horseback!
As a global Methodist Church I think of pastors and church leaders who are walking and bicycling though difficult regions and sometimes through “lion country” to lead their church. Glad I didn’t have to do that this morning! Some are facing open persecution for their faith in Christ. But I am inspired by their faith and dedication to the Lord and giving their time sacrificially just like these Wise Men.
It does take a level of commitment to give the time that is needed, even the time you dedicated this morning to come and worship the Lord. Thank you for that. The Wise Men model and great commitment of their time to seek Christ. Whatever else they might have done, whatever other journey they might have gone on, whatever business dealings they may have done in their home region, they set that all aside. And they dedicated their time and their gifts to worship Christ.
I hope in this New Year we will place the right priority on the time we will give to worship Christ our Lord inside and outside the church. Perhaps this could be part of our own New Year resolution in learning lessons from the Wise Men in giving our treasures, our talents and our time to worship Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. He is King of Kings. He is our Great High Priest! He was born to die so that we might have life, even eternal life! Alleluia! He is worthy of all our gifts.
Let’s pray. Lord as we come to this time of Holy Communion may we truly reflect over the gifts of the Wise Men. But let us also be mindful of the gifts we will give to you in this New Year. Lord, I pray in thanksgiving most of all for what you have given to us and the sacrifice you made for us which is represented in this holy meal. Lord may that be truly imprinted on our minds and hearts as we start this New Year. In Jesus’ name. Amen.