Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

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What Shall I Offer Him?

A meditation adapted from Sergei Bulgakov's The Gifts of the Magi (1934).

"Gold is found deep in the earth, its purity and luminous glow are hidden within the darkest recesses. It is carefully and patiently extracted from the earth, bit by bit, and then it shines with such splendour! So too is the spiritual beauty given us by God, hidden deep within us but to be brought forth, in order to shine, made radiant in the reflection of His gentle light. This gold belongs to the King of Glory; we are His and we are to bring Him the glory He has given us, the glory hidden within us.

Fragrant frankincense melts on the burning coal and ascends to heaven. It is an image of the longing of our soul rising to our heavenly homeland, of our prayer making its way to the throne of God, of our sighs joining the intercession of the saints and the acclamations of the angels, all things caught up in glorifying Him. Truly there is a frankincense of the soul, its fragrance hidden and as if frozen in our hearts, longing to be released through love, in the censer of love, and brought to the Christ Child. Every soul has its own prayer, its own sacrifice, its own fragrant ascent of veneration to the throne of glory.

The wise men foreshadow the myrrh-bearers, and myrrh is the gift of love for the burial of the Beloved One. His birth is the beginning of the way of His death, leading to Golgotha. His manger in the cave is a symbol of His grave. The way of love is sacrifice and the price of the sacrifice is death. Our myrrh must be our decision to die with Him, our commitment to follow Him, to deny ourselves, to be united to Him, so that we may rise with Him. Myrrh stands for love, and love is as strong as death, indeed stronger, for death in Christ is actually life; it is resurrection with Him.

May our gifts be pleasing to Him, who for our sake is born, the eternal God."

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