Can we ever give a perfect gift? I use to spend many hours and sometimes a lot of money to find someone whom I love the perfect gift. But after many years of giving and receiving gifts I realized that we can give great gifts, valuable gifts, expensive gifts but I am not sure if we can give perfect gifts (of course it depends on our definition of a perfect gift). I remember when I was a kid my parents presented me a cool car (in those days they were very expensive and rare in India, especially in small towns), I am sure they spent many hours and a good amount of money to buy this particular toy for me.
I thought that was the perfect gift any kid could get, I jumped with joy and started playing with it immediately but in my excitement I broke the car right in front of my parents in less than an hour. So much for the perfect gift, or maybe it was a perfect gift in a pair of imperfect hands. What makes a gift special? Charles D Warner says “The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value.” It is unfortunate that we live in a world where many of the gifts are measured in terms of money spent on the gift rather than its appropriateness to the receiver. Today for our meditation I would like us to turn our Bibles to Matthew chapter 2: 1-11 where we see the wise men (Magi) of the east bringing gifts to Jesus.
“The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value.” – Charles D Warner
These wise men were experts in studying the stars and reading the times; if they lived in our days we probably would call them Scientists and give them a Nobel Prize for their contribution to the field of science. They not only exhibited great wisdom in searching and finding the savior, but they also demonstrated great wisdom in the gifts they gave. As a kid I always wondered about these gifts and often confused between frankincense and Frankenstein, and thought that Myrrh was a metal from Mars (Please do not ask me why?). After I became a Christian I realized that these gifts were very expensive gifts and only after I went to the seminary I understood that each of these gifts had a symbolic meaning and represented something more than the gift itself.
The wise men knew that this child was born to die, and the greatest gift humanity can ever receive will come from the death and resurrection of this perfect lamb of God, Jesus.
Gold was obviously one of the most precious metals in those days and because of its great worth it was often given as gifts to royalty. By giving gold as a gift these wise men acknowledged that Jesus was the king of kings. Frankincense (not Frankenstein) was used as one of four sweet scents compounded together to make the ceremonial incense of the Jews. It was the scent used in temple worship by the priests to cover the smell of the blood of sacrifices. While Gold represented Jesus’ kingly ministry, Frankincense represented Jesus’ priestly ministry. Jesus is not only the King, he is the “great high priest” whose self-sacrifice will make the final atonement for the sins of all the people (Heb 2:17). In Jesus’ time, people used Myrrh to embalm their dead. Myrrh is an aromatic gummy substance obtained from several trees and shrubs that was often used in Egypt in the embalming process of mummification. What a strange gift for a new born baby? The wise men knew that this child was born to die, and the greatest gift humanity can ever receive will come from the death and resurrection of this perfect lamb of God, Jesus.
Talk about appropriateness? I do not think anybody can beat those gifts; their greatness is not in their monitory value, but in their symbolic meaning of the ministry of Jesus. Well let’s not be so carried away in the appropriateness of the gifts of the wise men that we do not reflect on the appropriateness of the gift God gave us through the first Christmas. As someone said: “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.”
What can be an acceptable response to such a great gift? Again let’s go to the wise men. Matthew 2:11 notes three verbs “they came, they saw, they worshipped” (does it ring a bell?). Well, I personally do not know if there is a greater response to the eternal word becoming flesh than to bow down and worship. So during this Christmas season among all the other things you have planned to do, do not forget to come to the King, see the king personally and worship this King.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
– – Author: Rev. Francis Burgula – –
