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| The time between mid-September
and mid-January is my favorite time of the year. September and October
mean the wind-down of summer’s fierce heat and the firing of the trees
with the colors of autumn. All this just puts me in the mood to celebrate
life in general. Then, in November and December, I celebrate two of the
"High Days" of the Christian calendar, Thanksgiving and Christmas (which,
for me, formally lasts until the day known in some assemblies of the Church
as Epiphany, the coming of the Magi to see the Christ child). Then, from
the end of January, I shiver through the wait for spring and the Holy Week
that culminates in Resurrection Sunday, known to the secular world as "Easter",
another High time.
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| These three celebrations, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, and Holy Week, are especially precious to the Body of Christ
in the United States. The first is our acknowledgement to Him for the blessings
of the year, as well as being to Him an acknowledgement of the part He
has played in the affairs of this country from its earliest beginnings.
The other two are high points in the history of man, connected to each
other in the person of one Man, by Whom man can now re-connect with God.
These three celebrations are accorded their day on both the secular and
Church calendar of the United States. To those around the world who can
understand their significance on a spiritual level, however, these Days
slip their man-imposed boundaries to become a universally on-going phenomenon
throughout the Body of Christ.
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| When the magi came from the
East to pay homage to the little Boy King Jesus, they brought Him a king’s
treasure: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:1-11). To Bible scholars,
each gift represents a facet of Jesus’ purpose and earthly existence. The
gold is thought to represent the richness of the Heavenly Gift God presented
to the world in His Son. Of all metals, gold is the most highly valued
by man. (It was the standard on which US money was based until the time
of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It may be that there remain countries
whose economy is based on it; I don’t know.) However, it is the symbol
of highest prestige, longevity, purity, and the best of all that is good.
Jesus, Son of the Most High, the sinless, spotless Lamb, came to us to
give us the best thing that man can ever have: eternal life in the presence
and joy and glory of the Father, a Gift for every man who ever has lived,
now lives, and will live, a Gift that will never grow old, wear out, or
be taken away from man. This is what Christmas is about. Peace, love, and
all that is good is embodied in His coming and in the reason for our celebration
of this High Day. Whenever a soul is born anew into the Family of God,
He, by His Spirit, is born into that person’s life, and Christmas happens
all over again. The Joy that comes into that person’s world is the source
of strength (Nehemiah 8:10); love such as s/he has never known becomes
the heart of that person ([Gospel of] John 14:23, 1 [First Epistle of]
John 4:7-16); and s/he walks in a lasting peace that is past understanding
(Isaiah 26:3, Gospel of John 14:27, Philippians 4:7).
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| Frankincense is a highly scented
resin that comes from a type of balsam tree. It is one of the fragrances
used to make the holy incense according to the formula God gave to Moses
for the priests (Exodus 30:34-38). This fragrant incense compound was carried
in a censor and burned morning and evening in the temple. For most offerings
of any kind, frankincense was included as a "sweet savor" to the Lord.
One can imagine that the temple, and those who served in it, smelled good
most of the time! Frankincense is representative of the way Jesus lived
His life. Every word He spoke, every act He committed, every miracle He
performed was ordained and influenced by His Father. His life was a testament
to us of the goodness of the Father. As children of God, we are called
upon to put God first in our lives, letting His righteousness govern our
every thought, word, and act. We do not always manage to do this, but when
we do, our lives are a testament and a "sweet savor" unto God (Romans 12:1).
Also, when we praise and worship Him from a pure heart—and the highest
form of worship is obedience to God—He receives it as sweet incense. We
who are His children know that we have much for which to be thankful, many
reasons to give Him praise and worship. As the first line of a song I know
says, "Every day is a day of thanksgiving." We are the temples of the Lord
(1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), and the thankfulness of our hearts and the
holiness of our lives make us like frankincense to God and to the world.
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| Myrrh is a highly fragrant spice,
and it had many uses as medicine, preservative, and perfume. It was a component
of the anointing oil used by the priests (Exodus 30:22-33). It is said
that the word "anoint" comes from a word that means "to paint or mark";
anything that is anointed, therefore, especially in dedication to God,
is marked by God or for God’s use. There is absolutely no doubt that Jesus
was anointed by God to do everything He did. The Bible tells us that, upon
His baptism by His cousin John, Jesus was filled with the Spirit (Luke
3:21-22, 4:1). Before His death, and as He was about to leave His disciples
to return to heaven, He promised them that they would have the same power
from the Father that He had, as would all who chose to believe on His Name
(Mark 16: 17-18, John 14:9-14). As He was on the cross, one account of
the crucifixion recounts that he was offered wine mixed with myrrh, which
he rejected (Mark 15:23). Bible scholars believe that the myrrh mixed in
the wine was intended as a narcotic to help Him get through the pain of
His death—and who of us, after experiencing the unimaginable agony that
had already come before that moment, would not have sucked that sponge
drier than the sands of the Sahara? But not Jesus. When He had cried, "It
is finished!" and given up the ghost, along came Joseph of Arimathea and
Nicodemus, bringing myrrh and aloes to use on the linens in which they
wrapped Jesus for burial (John 19:38-40). This is the last mention of myrrh
in the Bible. Myrrh has come by association with Jesus to represent bitterness.
(I personally find it interesting how much like the name "Miriam" the word
sounds. Indeed, the names Miriam, Maryam, Mara, and their derivatives
in other languages [Mary, Maria, Marie, Moira, Myra, Marya, etc.]
all come from the name in Hebrew which means "bitter".) And there is an
element of myrrh in the life of every Christian. As we see from Jesus’
life, and that of every other person who did a great work for God, to bear
the anointing, the "mark", of God—to be called to be, and be effective
as, His servants—calls for sacrifice, which is often quite bitter, and
often very great. Yet from the bitterness of His death, we are able to
put to death the carnal man; and by His resurrection, we may attain to
the sweetness of life in the Spirit. Isaiah 53 speaks most eloquently about
what the myrrh of Jesus’ experience gained for us:
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| This is what Holy Week and Resurrection
Sunday are all about for us. Just as Christ died for our sins that we may
die to them, so He was resurrected by the Spirit of God to life, that we
may be born anew into the Spirit and eternal life.
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| Thanksgiving! Christmas! Holy
Week! Three great celebrations. Three beautiful phenomena, like threads,
woven inextricably, beautifully, powerfully, through the lives of the Church
Universal, every day! And anyone, anywhere, at any time, can become a part
of the holy mystery. Come join the celebration, won’t you?
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| ©S. Frazier/Alabaster
December 11, 1998 |
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