“They opened their treasures and presented Jesus with gifts.” (Matthew 2:11)
“What sweeter music can we bring/Than a carol for to sing/The birth of this our heavenly King?” The lines of this seventeenth-century poem “What Sweeter Music” by Robert Herrick were reimagined by modern day choral composer John Rutter to become an Advent season favorite. Its gentle melody describes a long, cold season of waiting that’s thawed by the springtime feeling of Jesus’ arrival. The singers bring Him a Christmas carol, the listeners are invited to bring their hearts.
Rutter’s arrangement was commissioned to correspond with a church reading on the wise men who brought Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These mysterious magi traveled a great distance to meet baby Jesus with the express purpose of worshiping Him. When they finally found Him, they “were overjoyed,” bowed down in reverence, and “opened their treasures” at His feet. Warned in a dream, they left without informing wicked King Herod.
The Christmas season however, shouldn’t focus on material gifts-but it’s certainly about giving and receiving gifts. God gave His Son to heal a broken world. If we’ve never given Him our hearts, today’s a wonderful day to do so. If He already reigns there, let’s offer a carol of peace and joy as we think about His arrival all those years ago in Bethlehem-and wait for His return.
Daily Questions
- What are some of the greatest gifts of Christmastime?
- What might you be reluctant to give over to God?
Daily Prayer
Dear Jesus, You’re the greatest gift of all. Everything we are, and everything we have, we give back to You in praise and glory.
Amen.
Matthew 2:1-2, 7-12
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.'”
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
Reflection
Matthew’s gospel is bookended by the worship of Jesus in both accounts, readers see what the proper response to Christ should be. Based on what had been revealed to them, “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem”, bearing gifts to honor Jesus. They asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him”. “Worship(ed)” translates the word proskyneo-meaning “to fawn”, “to crouch down” (literally or figuratively), “to prostrate oneself in homage” (reverence, adore). Matthew’s account of Christ shows that worship is the proper response to Him. The final use of the word worship(ed) in this gospel occurs in the last scene of the book, after the resurrection: “When they saw him, they worshiped him.” Today, as we celebrate Jesus-the greatest gift ever given-may we also respond with worship.
No Thought Police 