east side wise guys

this year for CHRISTmas, i received a gift from my two boys (as well as my third one, who was unable to participate on account of he hasn't arrived yet!).  it was a book entitled "the revelation of the magi".  in this book, the author translates as well as provides commentary on an ancient manuscript, dated somewhere between the 1st and 3rd century after Christ's birth, that goes into more detail concerning the magi from a mystical eastern land that are talked about in matthew 2.  it has been a fascinating read, and while i would not hold it anywhere near as authoritative as the Bible, it is interesting to get a glimpse into what might have been the untold story of the magi.  matthew's gospel is very cryptic concerning the magi, or wise men, as some call them.  all we know, from matthew's account, is that they came from the east, following a star that led them to Jesus' house, and caused quite a stir in jerusalem, especially among the ruling authority, herod the great.  we also know that they brought gifts:  gold, frankinscence, and myrrh.  that is as far as the story goes.  many have speculated as to where they were from, some saying persia, others babylon, and some even saying the far east.  many also like to say that there were three of them, hence the three gifts.  however, we do not know how many there were.  although, for them to cause such a stir in jerusalem, there must have been more than three, for a small band of three travelers would hardly have been noticed.  however cryptic the story may be, the truth is in the details. 

first, we know that they left everything to follow a star for years that was to lead them to the Christ.  whether or not they knew his name, we do not know.  we do know that they had faith in Him before they had even met Him.  as Jesus once said, those who believe without seeing are more blessed than those who have seen and believe.  in "revelation of the magi", the magi were not astrologers or kings, as many hymns and CHRISTmas pageants make them out to be.  instead, they are direct descendents of seth, adam's and eve's son, who are watchers for the prophecy that was given adam when he was expelled from the garden.  they go on to say that there was another prophecy, not mentioned in the biblical account, given to seth by adam, to look for a star signifying God's birth in human form.  whether or not this is true, is for an outside discussion.  however, we can look at the faith of these men who made an extraordinary long journey just to worship the King of Kings, born to a teenage girl and a middle class carpenter.  many of us could do well to learn from them.  we find it a burden (and yes, i myself sometimes fall into this category) to get up and get our households dressed and out the door and drive in traffic 15 minutes to church. 

another detail is in the gifts given by the magi.  first, is gold.  gold was a gift that was given to a king.  they recognized this Baby they had never met as King, regardless of how he appeared to them in His infancy.  second, is frankincense.  this was a gift given to a deity.  in the holy of holies, the priest would burn frankincense as a scent offering to Yahweh on yom kippur, the day of atonement.  these first two gifts, gold and frankincense, He had been offered before.  gold was used in the construction of the ark of the covenant, as well as in the construction of solomon's temple.  however, the third gift, myrrh, is the most intriguing.  myrrh was a spice, and had two purposes.  the first was in burial.  they recognized the purpose of this Baby was to die.  today, we have turned Jesus' cross into an accident, pitying Jesus suffering and dying on it.  we view it as a cruel punishment brought on by the corrupt Jews and the power hungry Romans, and "poor Jesus" was murdered on it.  however, this is as far from the truth as it can be.  the devil and the world WANT us to pity Jesus.  for when we pity Him, we deny His power and His purpose.  He came FOR the cross, the cross didn't come for Him.  was it horrible?  yes!  was it torment?  yes!  was it injustice?  absolutely!  but was it avoidable?  NO!  interesting that of all trades, Jesus was fathered by a carpenter!  He knew of His destiny, long before crosses were even used.  there are countless prophecies of the cross, hundreds of years before Jesus was even born.  He came to die.  which brings us to the second use of myrrh:  analgesic.

out of the three gifts Jesus was offered, only one would be offered again to Him during His time on earth:  myrrh.  when He was dying on the cross, myrrh was put on a sponge and offered to Him to dull His pain.  the romans liked to keep their victims alive and alert and did not want them passing out in shock from pain.  myrrh was used in His burial. 

one day, He will be offered gold and frankincense again.  we can see that in the book of revelation.  however, today, most of the world would rather deny His deity and His royalty, in the same way that herod did.  herod the great was known for his ruthlessness, even going so far as to having his wife and sons killed so that no one could lay claim to his throne.  he feared this little Baby so much, that he had every child two and under in his kingdom murdered.  imagine laying in your bed, and soldiers coming to your door demanding your 18 month old son, and them taking him out into the street and beheading him right in front of you.  many today are just as threatened by this Baby that was born 2000 years ago.  amazing that people aren't threatened by any other ancient religious leader.  oh sure, people are threatened by mohammed, but not so much the man himself, but his evil murdering followers.  why the fuss over a peasant Baby?  it's because if He truly was who He said He was, then they know that they have a lot to answer for.  they also know that He threatens their rule over their own respective worlds.  but mostly, they know that the day is coming that they will stand before Him and then they will know that He truly is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Mighty God. 

what is your view of Jesus?  is He a threat to your world?  is He still in the manger?  as a popular movie once said, "i like the CHRISTmas Jesus!  little baby Jesus in the gold diaper. . ."  is He still on the cross?  do you still feel sorry for Him when you look at a crucifix or watch "the passion of the Christ"?  or is He the RISEN Jesus, who is sitting on His throne in heaven and will one day come back as the Conquering King, with fire in His eyes, and a double-edged sword in His mouth?  choose well, for the difference between the choices is eternity!

xmas and Christmas

normally i like to post entries of my own authorship, but being that c.s. lewis is my favourite author, and this essay by him is very appropriate for the season, i give you "xmas and Christmas".  it is a fictional account of the island of niatrib (britain spelled backwards), written from the point of an outside person observing their culture during the holidays.

“Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus,” by C.S. Lewis
And beyond this there lies in the ocean, turned towards the west and north, the island of Niatirb which Hecataeus indeed declares to be the same size and shape as Sicily, but it is larger, though in calling it triangular a man would not miss the mark. It is densely inhabited by men who wear clothes not very different from the other barbarians who occupy the north western parts of Europe though they do not agree with them in language. These islanders, surpassing all the men of whom we know in patience and endurance, use the following customs.

In the middle of winter when fogs and rains most abound they have a great festival which they call Exmas and for fifty days they prepare for it in the fashion I shall describe. First of all, every citizen is obliged to send to each of his friends and relations a square piece of hard paper stamped with a picture, which in their speech is called an Exmas-card. But the pictures represent birds sitting on branches, or trees with a dark green prickly leaf, or else men in such garments as the Niatirbians believe that their ancestors wore two hundred years ago riding in coaches such as their ancestors used, or houses with snow on their roofs. And the Niatirbians are unwilling to say what these pictures have to do with the festival; guarding (as I suppose) some sacred mystery. And because all men must send these cards the marketplace is filled with the crowd of those buying them, so that there is great labour and weariness.

But having bought as many as they suppose to be sufficient, they return to their houses and find there the like cards which others have sent to them. And when they find cards from any to whom they also have sent cards, they throw them away and give thanks to the gods that this labour at least is over for another year. But when they find cards from any to whom they have not sent, then they beat their breasts and wail and utter curses against the sender; and, having sufficiently lamented their misfortune, they put on their boots again and go out into the fog and rain and buy a card for him also. And let this account suffice about Exmas-cards.
They also send gifts to one another, suffering the same things about the gifts as about the cards, or even worse. For every citizen has to guess the value of the gift which every friend will send to him so that he may send one of equal value, whether he can afford it or not. And they buy as gifts for one another such things as no man ever bought for himself. For the sellers, understanding the custom, put forth all kinds of trumpery, and whatever, being useless and ridiculous, they have been unable to sell throughout the year they now sell as an Exmas gift. And though the Niatirbians profess themselves to lack sufficient necessary things, such as metal, leather, wood and paper, yet an incredible quantity of these things is wasted every year, being made into the gifts.

But during these fifty days the oldest, poorest, and most miserable of the citizens put on false beards and red robes and walk about the market-place; being disguised (in my opinion) as Cronos. And the sellers of gifts no less than the purchaser’s become pale and weary, because of the crowds and the fog, so that any man who came into a Niatirbian city at this season would think some great public calamity had fallen on Niatirb. This fifty days of preparation is called in their barbarian speech the Exmas Rush.
But when the day of the festival comes, then most of the citizens, being exhausted with the Rush, lie in bed till noon. But in the evening they eat five times as much supper as on other days and, crowning themselves with crowns of paper, they become intoxicated. And on the day after Exmas they are very grave, being internally disordered by the supper and the drinking and reckoning how much they have spent on gifts and on the wine. For wine is so dear among the Niatirbians that a man must swallow the worth of a talent before he is well intoxicated.

Such, then, are their customs about the Exmas. But the few among the Niatirbians have also a festival, separate and to themselves, called Crissmas, which is on the same day as Exmas. And those who keep Crissmas, doing the opposite to the majority of the Niatirbians, rise early on that day with shining faces and go before sunrise to certain temples where they partake of a sacred feast. And in most of the temples they set out images of a fair woman with a new-born Child on her knees and certain animals and shepherds adoring the Child. (The reason of these images is given in a certain sacred story which I know but do not repeat.)
But I myself conversed with a priest in one of these temples and asked him why they kept Crissmas on the same day as Exmas; for it appeared to me inconvenient. But the priest replied, “It is not lawful, O stranger, for us to change the date of Chrissmas, but would that Zeus would put it into the minds of the Niatirbians to keep Exmas at some other time or not to keep it at all. For Exmas and the Rush distract the minds even of the few from sacred things. And we indeed are glad that men should make merry at Crissmas; but in Exmas there is no merriment left.” And when I asked him why they endured the Rush, he replied, “It is, O Stranger, a racket”; using (as I suppose) the words of some oracle and speaking unintelligibly to me (for a racket is an instrument which the barbarians use in a game called tennis).

But what Hecataeus says, that Exmas and Crissmas are the same, is not credible. For first, the pictures which are stamped on the Exmas-cards have nothing to do with the sacred story which the priests tell about Crissmas. And secondly, the most part of the Niatirbians, not believing the religion of the few, nevertheless send the gifts and cards and participate in the Rush and drink, wearing paper caps. But it is not likely that men, even being barbarians, should suffer so many and great things in honour of a god they do not believe in. And now, enough about Niatirb.