Skip to main content

Christmas Gifts



Peeps, hopefully all your Christmas shopping is done! As we brace ourselves for Storm Barbara in the UK, it is lovely to be indoors with an abundance of Christmas cheer (anyone who’s grumpy, please leave!). Now to wrap a mound of presents and turn up the Christmas music! Will everyone like their gifts? ‘Well, it’s the thought that counts,’ we say to ourselves…..

The year is sometime between 4 and 2 B.C. (thanks to the miscalculations of Dionysius Exiguus) and the Magi are arranging a trip from the East to Bethlehem to see the Promised Messiah, who has been born to Mary and Joseph. They are coming to worship the One revealed to them as the ‘King of the Jews’ and it follows they should bring gifts fit for a King.
 
In the ancient world, gold, frankincense and myrrh were often given as gifts to honour a deity. The Magi had not only understood that the Christ-Child was ‘King of the Jews’, but that He was to be worshipped as God! How appropriate were the first Christmas gifts! Not only were they useful in their literal value to the poor Bethlehem family, but they were also significant in their spiritual symbolism, referring to Christ Himself. The gold represented His deity, the frankincense His priestly role (or His righteousness) and the myrrh prefigured His death and embalming.


In this season of exchanging gifts, let us never forget that the Christ of Christmas was the greatest Gift to this world. Do we recognize Him as King, as God in the flesh come down from Heaven to redeem mankind?  In a world crying out for peace, He is the Prince of Peace, the One whose birth was announced as bringing 'peace on earth and good will toward men'. He would reconcile man to God through His sacrifice on the cross. What would we have brought Him had we been delivering the first Christmas gifts? What can we bring Him today? The carol 'In the Bleak Midwinter' poses the same question:

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Have a wonderful Christmas and let's be thankful for THE GREATEST GIFT ever given!

xxx




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Mystery that is Macedonia

When I first came to Macedonia on a visit in 2001, I found this little country so intriguing and breathtakingly beautiful that I happily accepted the invitation to return for a longer period. That ‘longer period’ has now extended itself to several years during which I have had many enriching, memorable experiences. I thought it might be interesting to jot down a few observations about the difference in culture. I appeal to my Macedonian readers not to misunderstand my intentions. What I have observed are customs and habits which are as normal to you as breathing and sleeping, but to someone from an entirely different culture, they are both interesting and noteworthy. It is always thrilling for me to explore how various nations function and it is nothing short of a privilege to experience a foreign culture first-hand. Hospitality Macedonians are a friendly, hospitable people. I do not know how many times they have almost literally killed me with kindness. Indeed, I have often...
8 comments
Read more

Is Belief In God Blind Faith?

Stephen Hawking famously said: There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark. Comparing the human brain to a computer, he firmly declared his atheistic stance. Dr John Lennox’s reply to this statement turned it on its head: Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light! Who has the correct perception? Are we just living in a sphere of darkness without God or can we find evidence for God’s light and creatorial power? Evidence for God’s existence The order and design of creation. This is the most compelling sign in my opinion. I cannot look at the beauty and detail of creation without marvelling at the Creator. In the 1980s theoretical biologist, Dr Hans Meinhardt, began to wonder how the beautiful patterns of shells formed. As he researched, he discovered that the rules which govern the formation of the patterns in nature such as leaf arrangements, sand dunes and snowflakes, were the s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Christmas Memory

As I settle in my seat on the balcony of this historical German church, I can hardly contain my excitement. A feeling of jubilant anticipation pervades the air as people find their seats and the orchestra warms up. The  Thomanerchor  (St. Thomas Choir) *  files into lines at the front of the church and a reverent hush finally settles over the audience. The timpani drums roll, the notes from the flutes and oboes flutter delicately to the church rafters, and the trumpets sound joyfully: Jauchzet, frohlocket! Auf, preiset die Tage …   (Shout for joy, exult, rise up, praise the day) resounds the choir. Transported by the heavenly tones, I close my eyes. In my mind, it is the 25th of December, 1734. Cantor Johann Sebastian Bach is leading the elite male choir on this chilly, Christmas morning. For the first time, the magnificent tones of the  Christmas Oratorio  are reverberating in St. Thomas Church, Leipzig. Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn ...
Post a Comment
Read more