Magi Gifts – A Communion Meditation – Matthew 2: 10,11

Gold, frankincense, myrrh – these were the three gifts given by the magi to Jesus, Mary, Joseph.

Gold I can account for. The little family needed gold to buy a ticket to Egypt, where they could be safe from Herod. Incense I can account for. The little family could use the incense during the trips to the temple, when the mother was purified and the child was presented to God. 

I can hear my Old Testament professor warning me not to psychologize. Nevertheless, I wonder about the myrrh. Would Mary have put the myrrh aside in a hope chest? If so, what sort of hope was that? Mary could use the myrrh in a day that would come later in the life of Jesus. Myrrh was good for one thing, and that was burial. 

The precious child Jesus came into the world with a mission. His mission was to live and die to save mankind. The gifts of the magi were a signs of the king, the priest, and the dying savior. In the Lord’s Supper we remember he came to die for the salvation of the world.

Matthew 2: 10, 11 says,

When [the Magi] saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of god and of incense and of myrrh.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, only begotten Son of God, we remember you came to save the world. May you bless the bread we receive in memory of your body and the cup we receive in memory of your blood given for the salvation of the world. Praise God. Amen.

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Scary Bible Stories — Flight to Egypt — Matthew 2:13-18

The Flight into Egypt by Giotto di Bondone (1304-06, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Scary Bible Stories – Flight to Egypt – Matt. 2:13-18

B – A – B – E

See also: Hosea 11:1; Jer. 31:15; Rev. 12:13-14; Col 1:19-20; Heb. 2:17; 4:15

Beacon – v. 2, 13,16 The magi followed a trail of a star and a word.  Thus the trail was lighted for others.

Anger – v. 16 Herod had a reputation for his anger.  His wives and his citizens feared his anger.  It angered Herod that he did not know where the child was at.

Berserk bedlam – vs. 3, 16  Herod was known for his wild outrages.  He struck out at the child he feared.

Escape – v. 13-14  Think of all the what-if’s as it relates to the welfare of children.  They all applied to the infant Jesus. He could have suffered from shaken baby syndrome, and he could have been killed by Herod’s decree.  He was as vulnerable as the unborn who are carried into an abortion clinic by a heartless mother.

Exemplary story:  When I was about ten or eleven my father handed me a coated wire basket.  That was for egg collection for the summer. Not committed to the chore I gathered eggs rather carelessly. About the second day into the summer I was sternly warned not to come back with broken eggs.  Like young children fresh eggs require a tender touch.