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Show 05j ufzmGK wfSG iohgxj wfomGhs ufeS 0S u(v? wf&a'SV wfoGo I Gold, Frankincense and I Myrrh . . . Gifts For a King f i e i "They (the wise men) saw St the young child with Mary his mother, and . . . prc- sented unto him gifts; gold, & frankincense, and myrrh." ? Matthew 2:11 6 St. Matthew tells us that the Wise Men selected these exotic treasures, above all, (5 others, as their special offcr- ings to the baby Jesus. They j were the first Christmas gifts of all. if The gifLs brought by the e Three Kings all had magical associations: gold for the sun mystery, frankincense as the smoke-maker, and myrrh, the healer. The Wise Men to were also believed to have g had occult powers. HS2 SS)M2) SSw2 Hm The Magi, kneeling in tribute, express the love and awe Christ evokes in all who believe in Him. The Bible names the gifts . . . gold, frankincense and myrrh. Hach has its obvious worth; there are rich, symbolic meanings as well. Church scholars consider the gold to mean love or Christ as King of the World; the frankincense, prayer or Christ as the King of Heaven; the myrrh, suffering suffer-ing or a symbol of Christ's approaching sacrifice. The Bible does not mention men-tion containers for the gifts, artists over the centuries have created them. A casket o2 ow$y sw$y s holds the gold coins, a vessel $ for the frankincense, an urn for the myrrh. e Today we easily recog- 2 nize the value of the gold, but we are not as familiar with the value of frankin- ZS cense and myrrh. These two aromatic resins, used in Z making incense, were very . costly at the time of the Birth t of Christ. To this day they arc used at many Christian f altars. An old poem which expressed the ancient belief that "incense owns a deity 5 neigh" is further evidence S that frankincense and myrrh were worthy gifts for the g Prince of Peace. g 2S sw3)r Hsm(Sn |
