Part 2

THE APPLICATION OF GOLD,FRANKINCENSE & MYRRH to OUR OWN LIVES

I daresay that you might think that the "gold" bit could be about giving money to church or charity, but what of incense and myrrh ?

Well, let us begin with MYRRH, shall we ?

The dictionary says myrrh is 'a sticky brown substance with a strong smell which is used in making perfume and incense'. It was used to anoint dead bodies, so it is connected with sorrow.

We can see at once that if we are experiencing any kind of sadness, we can, in our prayers, offer it to God. We remember that Jesus said, "Come to me all you who are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

We hope that distressing experiences are rare, but there is another kind of sorrow which we should offer to God every day of our lives, and especially before receiving Holy Communion. It is when we say, "I am very sorry for my sins". This is why Anglican church services often begin with a general confession. Our faults and failings, (every thought, word and deed which is not in accordance with Christ's teaching)separate us from God and we need to say, "we do earnestly repent".

So there it is .... There are these two kinds of myrrh which any of us can offer to God.

Next, we come to GOLD.

We have already seen that we give God "gold" when we give time or money for church or charity, but there is something else valuable that we can give. I refer to our own personal gifts or talents.

A minority of gifts are obvious, such as music, drawing, carpentry, embroidery, gardening, our own job, public speaking, etc. but each of us has some personal gift which is unique to us, such as, baby minding, listening to others, shopping wisely, sympathy, helping others, bringing up a family, being amusing, generosity, ... these are the things we can offer to Christ. If they are offered to him he is able to give them fresh meaning and to guide us about how we use our gifts for his honour and for the working out of his holy will in and through our own lives.

Finally, let us turn our minds to frankincense, which is usually called INCENSE.

And what is that ? Well, it is a gum which is used in the form of small granules. If you heat them, such as on hot charcoal, they produce a smoke with a distinctive scent to it.

It is interesting to see WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS about it.

The "Children of Israel", ( the Jews), used it in worship from the earliest days: for example, we read instructions about it in the book of Leviticus. It symbolised prayers going up to God.

Jesus often took part in public worship in the Temple, where it was frequently used, (see the reference to John the Baptist's father Zechariah,(Luke ch.1,v8 " offer incense").

If you look at the last book in the Bible -- The Revelations, where "John the Divine" describes his visions of worship in heaven, you will find incense used there, (see Revelation chapter 5 verse 8, and chapter 8 verses 3 and 4). Here incense is described as 'the prayers of the saints' - and the word 'saints' does not mean people who are especially holy or good, but people who believe in Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

So, if we look at the Bible without prejudice, it makes you wonder why we don't all use it ! ... especially as Malachi prophesied, "In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty." (See the last book in the Old Testament, chapter 1, verse 11).

What all this boils down to is that we can all offer worship to God because "Worship" means "worth-ship" (from the Anglo-Saxon words 'weorthe and shipe') and in true worship we show God what he is worth to us.

We can all do this in two ways: (1) By putting Him first, before any other thing or person.

and (

2) By joining in services of worship with our fellow believers.

So, this Epiphanytide let us think of those people who came to visit little Jesus, realising that he was very special indeed, and let us visit him in our own lives too, and bring to God our own personal gifts of GOLD, INCENSE and MYRRH.

(END)