Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh, and More!

Text: Ephesians 1:3-14
Theme: “Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh, and More”
Epiphany of the Lord (observed)/The Second Sunday after Christmas
January 2, 2011
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

In the Name of Jesus

The language of an old holiday carol seems entirely seasonal and appropriate, so here goes:

The old year now away is fled,
The new year it is entered;
Then let us all our sins down tread
And joyfully appear.
Let’s merry be this day,
Let us run with sport and play,
Be done with sorrow; cast care away.
God send us a happy new year!

Indeed, happy new year to you all! Here we are on the ninth day of Christmas and the first worship of the year of our Lord, 2011! Technically, there are three more days of the twelve days of Christmas, and then we arrive at the Epiphany of Our Lord on January6, which we observe a bit ahead of time this morning. Epiphany, which means to “make known” or “make manifest”, celebrates the arrival of those famous visitors from the east, the Magi, who brought gifts to the infant Jesus. Infant Jesus was “made known” or “made manifest” to them, uniquely, through the star in the east, a star that they had followed. The star did the epiphany. What was your epiphany? Who or what made Jesus known to you?

Upon reaching their destination they brought gifts to the infant Jesus. They weren’t exactly age-appropriate. It wasn’t a cute little receiving blanket – which would be something a bit nicer than the swaddling clothes. Neither was it a little fire truck from Fisher-Price. The gifts were gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Now the question on the minds of the magi, during their holiday travels, was this: “Where is He who is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Clues to understanding the gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh – quite possibly are located in the question itself. They were looking for the King of the Jews. Gold was a gift for a king, for royalty. They wanted to worship the King. Frankincense, burned as a fragrant on a thousand altars, goes with the whole idea of worship. But what of myrrh? Myrrh was an expensive perfume – something along the lines of Chanel No. 5. In addition, it was regularly used as a burial ointment. Did the magi know something – or intuit something – about the future of the baby King? Did they realize that He would die? Did they wonder why He would die?

In any case, the tradition of gift giving at Christmastime has a solid and Biblical origin. It starts with the greatest gift of them all: the One who was born King of the Jews. It follows with the gifts of the magi to the newborn King of the Jews. Then, in keeping with such grand tradition, we give and exchange our own gifts.

One of the Christmas gifts I have received – for as long as I can remember, unbroken tradition – is a pair of new socks. Every Christmas, in one way or another, I get at least one pair. Usually, they come in a set of three pair these days. Within a year or so, I wear them out. Or they get lost in the laundry. I have a sack at home – a sack of sad socks – filled with socks who have lost their mates. Once or twice a year, I wrestle with the significant question of whether to leave the single socks at peace in their bag or to undertake a “search and rescue” mission to locate their mates.

Dear friends, all of us, obviously, misplace or lose our socks, or our car keys, or our wallets or purses, or any one of a number of things. Sometimes we find them; sometimes we don’t. Such losses and displacements or misplacements can be momentarily sad or inconvenient more than anything.

But consider this: what happens when we lose a bit of ourselves? What happens when we misplace or displace our peace of mind or our purpose in life? What do we do when we face a new year coming as it often does with a new round of uncertainty? Uncertainty often gives birth to fear, and we do our best to smile through the pain and pretend that everything is just a-okay. But sometimes it doesn’t work. So re redouble effort to gin up as much good cheer as we can, but, if truth be told, we find ourselves just a day older, a year older; we lead lives of what Henry David Thoreau once called “quiet desperation.” We lash out at the status quo, and all we hear is the echo of our lashing out. Our souls can feel like individual socks in a sack – like nothing more than inanimate objects. Shall we undertake a “search and rescue”?

No. I would suggest we not do that. That would be to take away from God the job that God does – and does so well. God does the “search and rescue”. God finds – and gives us back – who we are and who we will be.

Today’s New Testament reading from Ephesians does not begin with the sound of “quiet desperation.” Rather, we hear high doxology. St. Paul writes to his brothers and sisters in Ephesus: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” And the praise is not generic; it is specific: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

You heard it correctly. You are in full possession of every spiritual blessing. Not only do you get the pair of socks, you’ve got the entire wardrobe for life!

There’s more! God “chose us” in Christ “before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” We can have new year’s resolutions galore, and we may even make good on a few of them. But inevitably, we fail at one point or another. But there’s not failure with God’s resolve to choose us. You may feel as though you’ve sitting on the sideline of life. But God says: “I’ve chosen you.” As far as God is concerned, all of us are first round draft choices!

Again, there’s more! The apostle says that God “predestined us for adoption.” Let me translate that: our destiny, as far as God is concerned, is set. Christ is our brother and, because that is so, we are the adopted sons and daughters of God. When you feel all alone in a world of billions of people, remember this.

Again, there’s more! In Christ, “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” One of the wisest teachers I’ve ever known, in a graduate school class in systematic theology, uttered one of the most profound statements I’ve ever heard. He said, “The problem with us is not that we have ingrown toenails.”

He went on to explain. He said the root problem is that we are all sinners. God’s Law demands not adherence, not good intentions, not sitck-to-it-iveness. It demands perfection. If we can’t reach that standard (and we can’t), we’re basically stuck in a spiritual sack of socks without mates. Sin is the great kidnapper. But, says the apostle, “we have redemption” through Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of sins… .” God paid the ransom! We are free!

So listen up! Here’s a list of gifts, that are entirely yours, to begin the new year with:

• You have every spiritual blessing at your disposal;
• You are chosen;
• You are an adopted child of God;
• You are redeemed!

So…

Let’s merry be this day,
Let us run with sport and play,
Be done with sorrow; cast care away.
God send us a happy new year!

Amen.