The convergence of Jupiter and Saturn in the night sky on December 21st, an event which hasn’t occurred in 800 years, had many likening it to the Christmas star of biblical lore which was said to lead three “wise men” to the sight of the Nativity. While most of the attention went to the star, not much was said about the “wise men,” and even less about the gifts they were said to be bringing – gold, frankincense and myrrh. One question that gets asked by kids every Christs – after “when is Santa coming?” – is “What are myrrh and frankincense?”. Myrrh was a rare gum used for healing and anointing, and frankincense was a valuable ceremonial incense. If these men were truly wise, they would have kept some of that frankincense for themselves because the plant it is extracted from is nearing extinction. Will future “wise men” be forced to bear gold, myrrh and bitcoin?
The Tablet December 21, 2020
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) The Gospel of Matthew never details how many Magi came from “the East,” but it makes it clear they traveled to pay homage to “the newborn king of the Jews” and “offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
Beyond their great monetary value, scholars say, the gifts had deep symbolic significance: gold for the Christ child’s nobility as king of the Jews; frankincense, which was burned in religious ceremonies, for his divinity; and myrrh, which was used on cuts or wounds and in the anointing of corpses, to prefigure his role as healer and foretell of his death.
Guy Erlich, an Israeli entrepreneur, checks a frankincense tree at a plantation in Kibbutz Almog in the West Bank Nov. 30, 2017. Conflict, climate change and poverty are driving the demise of the tree that produces frankincense resin. (CNS photo/Ronen Zvulun, Reuters) Dec. 10, 2020 Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY The Gospel of Matthew never details how many Magi came from the East, but it makes it clear they traveled to pay homage to the newborn king of the Jews and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Beyond their great monetary value, scholars say, the gifts had deep symbolic significance: gold for the Christ child s nobility as king of the Jews; frankincense, which was burned in religious ceremonies, for his divinity; and myrrh, which was used on cuts or wounds and in the anointing of corpses, to prefigure his role as healer and foretell of his death.