The Best Gift of All

Upon reading and reflecting on the narrative of the wise men visiting Jesus from Matthew 2:1-12, I only just realized that this visit happened some time after Jesus’ birth. So, it is highly likely that Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus were no longer in the stable where Jesus was born, unlike what is depicted in our nativity scenes. ​

These wise men from the east, a special class of priests from the Persian Empire, were just doing their job of looking at the stars. I can imagine they might be similar to present-day astronomers who look forward to catching that once-in-a-lifetime Halley’s Comet – but of course we now know that this special star which they saw would appear only once in anybody’s lifetime! ​

No doubt their travels from afar, along with their three precious gifts, would not have been an easy journey. The most logical place to go to first when looking for the king of the Jews would have been the palace. But as was emphasised in last week’s sermon, our Most High God chose to be born as a man in the most humble and lowly of circumstances rather than as an earthly king. After the pit-stop at Herod’s, how amazing it would have been to be led by the special star, directly to where Jesus was! ​

The significance of the gifts is also worth pondering upon. Gold was meant for a king, and frankincense was meant to worship deity. But why would they have brought myrrh with them, which is an embalming oil which can be interpreted as a symbol of death?! As Hope Bolinger, a writer for www.christianity.com put it, “embalming liquid never appears to top the lists of baby shower gifts in society today.”​

As we have been reflecting on the responses of various eye-witnesses who were there at Jesus’ birth more than 2000 years ago, we must certainly return to the question of our own response. How have we been changed by the birth of this baby? What is our response to the Gospel message? Like the wise men who “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” when they finally saw the newborn king, and lay the precious gifts at his feet as they worshipped Him, there are two practical applications we could draw from this passage.​

First, we can examine how we approach this season in terms of both giving and receiving gifts. For example, do we buy gifts for family, friends, and colleagues for the sake of it, because it is expected, or the office’s culture? Could we be unintentionally contributing to the consumerism culture by gifting items that people don’t really need? And in terms of receiving gifts, this year especially, I am finding it challenging to teach my 4-year-old son the importance of having a grateful heart, even as he has been so blessed with early Christmas gifts, and unfortunately, has very little patience to wait until Christmas Day to open them!​

Second, and perhaps more importantly, we can reflect on our attitude of giving to God and towards His people and missions work. If we truly believe that everything we own belongs to the Lord, and we are only stewards of our material possessions, can we hold more loosely to our money, our time or even our talents? ​

Ultimately, we know that the best gift of all is Jesus Christ, and the Good News that He brings to us, which is what we celebrate during Christmas time. May this truth be apparent in our lifestyles and in everything we say and do especially during this season. ​

By sister Dorcas Leong​