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 The story of the wise men is a familiar story to most of us, especially the long time members of St. Raphael’s, because every January 6th we celebrate The Epiphany, the arrival of the wise men, with Lessons and Carols followed by the burning of the Christmas trees and the indulgence of The King’s Cake. Yet, have we ever really considered the visit of the Magi from Mary’s point of view? The gospel of Matthew writes of the wise men,
“On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
Notice there is no mention here of Joseph being present when the wise men arrive. Also, unlike the all too familiar manger scene of the wise men worshiping the Christ Child in the stable along with the shepherds, we are told that the wise men entered a house, not a stable. Instead, we are told only of Mary being present to greet the wise men.
At this point our minds have to erase the traditional manger scene and picture the Holy Family in a house in Bethlehem. Unless the star which the wise men were following shown itself in the day time, the wise men probably arrived in the evening. It is most likely; Joseph was also in the house when the wise men came to visit. However, Matthew only writes of Mary and the Christ Child being seen by the Magi.
Imagine Mary’s surprise when the very distinguished guests arrived at her house, entered and then knelt before Jesus and as Matthew wrote, “paid him homage”. These wealthy guests from a faraway land then presented their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh from the treasure chests they had brought with them. What strange gifts for the child of a carpenter, but this child as Mary knew was no ordinary child. His very birth had been a miracle having been conceived by the Holy Spirit instead of a man. Yet, the arrival of these unexpected guests and their gifts must have seemed strange to this young virgin chosen to be the Mother of God. With these gifts, the Magi brought with them the caravan in which they road for protection. So there is also the possibility that servants and body guards accompanied them into Bethlehem. Such a group of wealthy travelers to the small town of Bethlehem would not have gone unnoticed.
Matthew writes that the Magi’s gifts came in treasure chests. These treasure chests were brought into the Holy Family’s home probably by the Magi’s servants. Matthew tells us that the Magi gave the Christ Child three gifts.
These three gifts were chosen wisely by them.
The gift of gold was given to Jesus, because the Christ Child was born to be the King of Kings. Gold represented the sovereignty of the Messiah’s reign. The gift of gold we can understand, but the other two gifts of frankincense and myrrh from the Magi are not as familiar to us. At the time of Jesus’ birth, both frankincense and myrrh were valued as highly as gold. They were rare gifts from the sap of trees grown in Eastern Africa, the present country of Yemen and other countries located in the Red Sea area. Today these trees are common only in the African country of Somalia.
Both frankincense and myrrh were used at that time as incense by the priests. Frankincense, which is rich in fragrance, was used as a pleasant offering to God for worship in the Temple; while myrrh was used as a cleansing incense for the Temple. Myrrh was also used as a burial spice and for medicinal purposes, especially for the postnatal care of both the mother and child. It has been surmised that it was for the medicinal purposes alone that the Magi brought this gift, but the Church has focused upon the use of myrrh as a burial spice to emphasize the sacrifice of Christ on the cross
Jesus would fulfill all of these gifts. As the King of Kings, the gift of gold is fitting for the Messiah. As our Great High Priest, who intercedes before the Father God for us, the gift of frankincense emphasizes the Messiah’s priestly role. As both our Redeemer and Healer, the gift of myrrh is well chosen.
As for Mary’s response to these unusual visitors with their rare gifts, we are not told. We can only surmise. The closest we can find is the scripture that tells us Mary “treasured all these things in her heart”. We do know that when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem when he was eight days old to fulfill the Law, the prophet Simeon told Mary these words,
“This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Whether or not Mary connected the dots of Simeon’s prophecy with the gifts of the Magi we do not know.
What we do know is that the following day, after being warned in a dream, the Magi returned to their country without letting King Herod know where the young king was. Then after the Magi left, Joseph was also warned in a dream by an angel of the Lord to get up and take Jesus and Mary to Egypt. Matthew writes,
“Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’”
The scriptures go on to tell us that Joseph got up while it was still night and did what the angel had told him. The Holy Family fled to Egypt and stayed there until Herod’s death. The expensive gifts of the Magi probably came in quite handy for this unforeseen trip. The Father God had provided not only protection for Jesus by warning Joseph; He had also made sure that the Holy Family had more than enough provisions to keep Jesus safe.
Within a few short years, the life of a young girl from Nazareth was changed dramatically. Beginning with a visit from the Angel Gabriel to announce to her God’s favor towards her to fleeing her native land to hide out in a foreign country; all because Mary had said yes to the Lord’s request of her to become the Mother of God. Protection by her fiancé’ from those who wanted to stone her for conceiving out of wedlock, angels announcing the birth of her child, shepherds being her child’s first visitors, strange prophecies, even stranger visitors from a faraway land bringing unusual gifts; so much for a young mother to have happen to her. Yet, the question remains, did this young maiden from Nazareth truly know who this young child was that she shielded in her arms as her husband guided by an angel led them far away from all she had ever known. King of Kings, Great High Priest, Savior and Healer just a few clues of the son she had given birth to in a lowly stable on a star lit night in Bethlehem.
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