“Gifts We Cannot Adapt To” by The Rev. Kaji Douša

This week marks some of the most important weeks of the Christian life. One, is the end of Christmas season – Christmastide. And the other is the Epiphany of our Lord, or otherwise known as the Visitation of the Three Magi (or Three Kings Day). And these are significant for a number of reasons. One is that we celebrate the birth, and then we also celebrate the gifts. And in all of that, I encourage us to think about how we conceive of gifts. As the Magi came, they offered what we know as three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. And what I would love for all of us to consider is that along with these gifts, remember the context – that the Magi showed up when the authoritarian ruler was trying to conscript them as spies for his purposes. But instead, they flipped all that, and gave Jesus his life and his freedom. And they sent Jesus on his way with his family with just what he would need for the journey: resources. The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were incredibly valuable and they would give the holy family not just gifts like what we get that might fade, because traditionally when we get a gift, we enjoy it for a few days and then science shows us that we adapt to it. But the gifts that the Magi gave were gifts that the holy family would never adapt to because they would save their lives. The gold would be helpful in currency – all three could be traded on their journey to Egypt as refugees. The frankincense they could burn as a reminder as they would watch the smoke waft up from the burning incense to be reminded of their prayers rising up to God. And the myrrh was just that substance that was ground up and used for the oil that would anoint a king like Jesus and also would be the very same anointing oil that Nicodemus would bring just after Calvary. Remember that the gifts the Magi brought – the gifts that symbolized God’s love for this family – are gifts that are available in your life, too. What are the enduring gifts that God is sending to you? What is your gold, your frankincense, your myrrh today? Ask God, and I am confident that God will have an answer. Amen

Pastor Kaji’s sermon on this subject: https://youtu.be/MtUZ0y-tAsA