Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra
January 6, 2008

Isaiah 60:1-6 (NRSV)
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSV)
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

“Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh”

The celebration of Christmas 2007 is over. Many of us have stripped our houses of Christmas decorations. There have been numerous sightings of discarded evergreen trees at the curb. And after the 11:00 service today we are going to retire the greens here in the sanctuary (count that as a gentle reminder!) Yes, Christmas is now history.
Or is it? Do we really pack Christmas away when we undecorated? Do we stop thinking about the gift from God after Christmas Eve service? Do we forget to carry the joy of Christmas in our hearts once the New Year begins? How would you answer?
One way that we keep Christmas in our hearts is by purchasing gifts for family and friend. NO – really – this is not a bid for commercialism. When we take time to find a meaningful gift for that special someone, we are emulating the story of the Magi found in our Gospel reading for this morning.
When I see something that I think is the perfect Christmas gift for someone, I buy it – a year in advance, 6 months in advance, and yes, sometimes even a couple of days in advance. Throughout the year, I try to keep my Christmas list close at hand so that my quest for just the right gift for that special person is ongoing. In this way, a part of the spirit of Christmas is with me throughout the year.
Today is Epiphany Sunday, the day the church celebrates the coming of the Magi, or wise men, to worship the Christ child. It is only in Matthew’s gospel that we find the accounting of this visit. Matthew offers no description of Jesus’ birth or the shepherds’ visit. Instead, Matthew finds it important to establish the time of the birth of Jesus. He also chooses to remember the great joy of the Magi as they worship the Christ child.
The “Magi” are not identified by Matthew. Several centuries earlier the term Magi denoted a priestly caste of Medes who were known to interpret dreams. During the time of Jesus’ birth, Magi loosely covered a wide variety of men interested in dreams, astrology, magic, and the like. Apparently the men in Matthew’s Gospel came to Bethlehem spurred on by astrological calculations.
Though we know little about these men, it’s important to look at the gifts the Magi brought to the Christ child. They didn’t go to the closest marketplace and buy something practical. They didn’t re-gift something they didn’t like. The Magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts were appropriate for the Christ child. These gifts had prophetic meaning as well as great worth. And these gifts were presented with homage and great joy.
Gold, the first gift, is a metal with valuable properties. It is malleable – able to be rolled into ultra thin sheets. It is almost impervious to acids and corrosion. Gold is difficult to fake.
At the time of Jesus’ birth, tradition was to give gifts which would help the family with the financial burden of a new child. As a gift, gold was highly valuable and symbolized virtue. Gold also signified Christ’s kingship on earth to all people. The gift of gold was the first recognition of Jesus as king.
Frankincense, the second gift, is an aromatic gum resin obtained from a cut BOSWELLIA tree. When the sap is hardened, it gives a sweet scent if burned or warmed. Quality frankincense is very light in color and its aroma is heavenly.
Used primarily as incense and perfume, frankincense was a soothing gift for a new family. Within the religious traditions, it was one of the elements used in holy anointing. When the Magi gave frankincense to Jesus, it symbolized his priestly office and the discipline of prayer.
Like frankincense, myrrh, the third gift, is produced from the sap of a tree. It is also more adhesive as it dries. Myrrh resin has a bitter taste and its name is derived from the Hebrew “murr” or “maror” which means bitter.
Myrrh was another ingredient of holy anointing oil. Its superior preservation properties allowed myrrh to be used along with aloes and other spices to anoint the dead. The gift of myrrh was symbolic of the embalming that Jesus would undergo after his death on the cross. Myrrh signified suffering. The gifts the Magi brought to the Christ child were significant and valuable.
It is always difficult for a family with three teenage boys when a dad suddenly dies, and the mother has to step into his shoes. But Judith seems to be doing well. As the anniversary of her husband’s death approached, just days before Christmas, Judith felt compelled to tell the story of a family custom which got them through that first Christmas without Dad and would see them through the Christmases to come.
It is just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so. It all began because my husband Mike hated the commercialism of Christmas: the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry, and the dusting powder for Grandma - the gifts given in desperation because you cannot think of anything else. He always said, "All I want is for my boys and us to be together, and to remember the Christmas spirit."
Knowing he felt this way, one year I decided not to buy him the usual shirt, sweater, tie and so forth. I searched for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, took up the sport of wrestling at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. The boys, mostly black, came from under-privileged, poor families.
These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them."
Mike loved kids – all kids – and he knew them. He had coached little league football. When Christmas came that year the idea for his present came. I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church for their team. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year. In succeeding years I followed the tradition – one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a football game, another year a check to two elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on, always helping those in need.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. As you know, we lost Mike last year due to cancer.
When that first Christmas without Mike rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree.
It was my gift for Mike. In his memory, I was sending a group of underprivileged kids to church camp. Christmas morning, as we all gathered round the tree in our pajamas, I was amazed to find three more envelopes stuck in the tree. Each of our sons, unknown to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad telling what they had done for others.
This year we know it will happen again. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.
            Today, Epiphany Sunday, we hear the story of the Magi…wise men bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The gold offered to Jesus was symbolic of what one did in ancient times as a tribute to the reign of a new King. Frankincense, the aromatic incense used in sacred rituals was offered to the Christ child according to tradition as a token of his being the Son of God. And finally, the Magi’s offering of myrrh, often used to prepare a body for burial, was a foretelling of the destiny of the Christ child as the suffering servant who would be crucified and died. The gifts of the magi were noteworthy – fitting for the Lord, proper for the Christ, appropriate for the King of kings.
            Yes, we may try to find the right present for everyone on our Christmas list. I do and you probably do, too. Sometimes it an easy choice; other times it’s a dilemma.
Christ is calling each one of us to make a life changing decision. Set aside the Christmas list. Today we must decide what we will bring as our gift to Jesus, the Christ.
What will you bring him: Gold? Frankincense? Myrrh? Friends, keep the spirit of Christmas. Worship Christ with your time; your talents; your treasures. Today, bring Him your gift – the gift of your heart. Amen and amen.