If you are like most Americans, you started your Christmas shopping this week. I like the challenge of getting just the right gift. Sometimes, I’ll choose a practical gift—perhaps a domestic appliance or a garage tool that will make life easier. Sometimes I will choose a gift that reflects some aspect of the recipient—perhaps a t-shirt with a funny message, or some item of décor that will match their home.
If the recipient is very special and important to me, I put a lot more thought into choosing the right gift. Sometimes I will make something, either because it can’t be found on Amazon or because I want the gift to be unique and custom. In any case, I want my gift to express a message about what that person means to me and the relationship that we share. I like to think I have a knack for choosing gifts.
Sometimes I don’t succeed at figuring out a perfect gift, and someone gets a gift card to Target. That’s usually a last resort; gift cards are so impersonal. (Although, depending on the person and the relationship we share, that may be exactly the right gift.) But even when it’s not a gift card, I sometimes miss the mark. Pretty sure the scented candle just collected dust, and I don’t think that foot massager ever even got opened. So…maybe I don’t have a knack.
Our tradition of Christmas gift giving began with the Magi: Zoroastrian sages, probably from Persia. Matthew tells us that they brought gifts to the infant Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Even non-believers, if they celebrate Christmas, have heard of these gifts of the Magi. We know the names of the gifts, at least, if not their significance.
At first glance, it seems those Persian astronomers had little experience gift-shopping for a baby. Obviously, they didn’t have my knack. What use would a baby have for gold and a couple of expensive perfumes? I suppose Joseph could have put them up on eBay, but if the gifts were just about cash value, the Magi could have brought baby Jesus gift cards to Target.
Matthew gives no explanation for these opulent gifts; he doesn’t even give a clue as to the quantities involved. Perhaps Jesus began life with a fortune and enough windfall to fund a lengthy rabbinical education. Or perhaps the sages hoped to be the first to curry favor with this scion by symbolic gestures, and the gifts held little intrinsic value.
After the events of Matthew 2, there is never any mention of the gifts again. Ancient references help us make educated guesses about the significance of these gifts. Pliny the Elder, a Roman philosopher and contemporary of Jesus, pondered why gold had any value at all. Gold is, he opined, too soft for weapons or structures, not as heavy as lead, and less pure in color than silver. But, said Pliny, “gold is the only substance in nature that suffers no loss from the action of fire, and passes unscathed through conflagrations and the flames of the funeral pile. Nay, even more than this, the oftener gold is subjected to the action of fire, the more refined in quality it becomes.”
Frankincense comes from trees of the genus Boswellia. Extraction requires slashing the bark repeatedly, a process called striping, and the tree bleeds its resin. Harvesting frankincense in ancient times was a hazardous job, as venomous snakes lived in the trees. The Greek historian Herodotus reported that harvesters would burn the resin of the styrax tree, which would create smoke noxious to the snakes. Frankincense was used in religious rituals in Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, and of course Israel.
Myrrh is also a tree resin, from the genus Commiphora. Its extraction is similar to that of frankincense—striping the tree and collecting the sap. Both frankincense and myrrh were part of Jewish burial rites. Myrrh was also a primary component of the anointing oil for the tabernacle and the priests (Exodus 30:23).
These precious substances not only conveyed a sense of deep appreciation and respect for the newborn king, but also symbolized the life Jesus would live. As gold was pulverized and burned to be purified, so too would Jesus be crucified to be glorified (John 12:23). As frankincense and myrrh trees are striped for their precious resin, so too would Jesus be striped for his precious blood (Isaiah 53:5). By giving Jesus these gifts as an infant, the Magi recognized his kingship, his purity, his priesthood, and his sacrifice.
Apparently the Magi did indeed have a knack for choosing gifts.
Sure, it’s possible Joseph and Mary sold the gifts to pay for a journey to Egypt. I would like to think that they kept the gifts until Jesus was old enough to understand them. Perhaps one day, Mary sat down with Jesus and told him of the noble visitors and the gifts that they had brought; maybe Jesus kept the gifts as physical reminders of his divine purpose and destiny: a gift to all humankind.
This Christmas, as you exchange ugly sweaters and mugs with your loved ones, remember your divine purpose and destiny as well. You are not here to gain power, prestige, or wealth; you are here to love and be loved, as Christ loves you.
Peter Cress enjoys hot peppers, nuclear physics, cartography, fast-food history, philosophy, cooking, and creating high-voltage art. He makes regular appearances in Journey Sabbath School.