Scholars have long pondered the meaning and symbolism of the gifts brought by the magi. Some have speculated that the gold – a valuable metal – was for the King of Kings, the frankincense – used by a priest as an offering to God – was for the Priest of Priests, and the myrrh – used to anoint people for burial & foreshadowing the cross – was for the Lord of Lords.
In her book Bread of Tomorrow: Prayers for the Church Year, author Jan Berry uses the gifts of the magi to form a prayer.
God of gold, we seek your glory:
The richness that transforms our drabness into color,
and brightens our dullness with vibrant light;
your wonder and joy at the heart of all life.
God of incense, we offer you our prayer:
our spoken and unspeakable longings,
our questioning of truth,
our searching for your mystery deep within.
God of myrrh, we cry out to you in our suffering:
The pain of all our rejections and bereavements,
our baffled despair at undeserved suffering,
our rage at continuing injustice;
and we embrace you, God-with-us,
in our wealth, in our yearning, in our anger and loss. Amen.
Join us this Sunday for a special Epiphany worship at 9:00 and 11:00 AM as we welcome the wise men and ponder what we gifts might offer our Lord.
image: James Tissot: The Magi Journeying (c. 1890). Brooklyn Museum, New York City. In the Public Domain