"The heart and understanding of the perfect Christmas gift"
Second Sunday after Christmas/Epiphany Sunday (B)

by
Gary F. Daught

Texts: Matthew 2:1-12

When the wise men had heard [from King Herod that they should go to
Bethlehem], they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they
had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child
was..., and they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw
the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage.
Then, opening their treasure chests, they *offered him gifts* of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. (Matt 2:9-11)

* * *
So, did you receive the *perfect* gift this Christmas? I don't
think it will put any real damper on the booming figures for the
Christmas-time retail economy, but gauging the mournful piles of returns at
department store Customer Service counters, I would have to say that
perfection came up short for more than a few people this year. Of course
it's pretty much the same every year. A strange respect wells up within me
for those Customer Service associates standing behind their counters with
smiling and reassuring faces. Retail priests and priestesses with a special
calling. For several weeks following Christmas their primary task is to
hear confession and offer absolution to lines of anxious and unsmiling
faces seeking refunds or exchanges for gifts that left them less than
totally satisfied.
"Number 23? Number 23?!" Number 23 approaches the counter and
mumbles his request. "I'd like to return this Christmas gift." "What seems
to be the problem with it, sir?" (This is always the most uncomfortable
part of the ritual.) Timid at first, Number 23 offers: "It doesn't fit. It
has missing parts. It's the wrong color. It doesn't work. I already have
one. I already have two." Then more boldly, he blurts out: "I just don't
like it!" In a gentle voice the Customer Service associate replies
assuringly: "That's okay, sir. We are committed to total customer
satisfaction. Would you like a refund or an exchange?" "Just give me the
cash." "Gladly, sir. Fill out this form. Name. Address. Phone number.
Reason for the return. Here's your money, sir. Don't forget to check-out
our great after Christmas specials. Savings up to 50% off. Next? Number
24?!"
* * *
One old adage associated with gift giving and receiving says that
"it's the thought that counts." But in the modern Christmas economy the
gift and the thought are commonly disassociated. Call me a cynic, but in my
observation generosity and graciousness--that is, self-giving and receiving
with openness--are too often replaced by less noble values like obligation
and expectation. The gift-giver feels compelled by social convention, and
the gift-receiver has been conditioned to value the gift only to the degree
that it provides personal satisfaction and happiness. It is curious how
many fears have come to surround the Christmas season over the question of
gifts. I am quite sure that the wise men, who might be credited with
starting this whole Christmas gift-giving tradition, never imagined
line-ups at department store cash registers weeks *before*, or line-ups at
Customer Service counters weeks *after* the blessed event. Could it be that
we need to discover again how to give and receive gifts? Could it be that
we need to discover again just what makes a perfect Christmas gift?
* * *
This morning we are celebrating Epiphany, the ancient feast of the
Church that marks the Incarnation--the "appearing" of God embodied in human
flesh. Although the Common Lectionary has us follow a *three year cycle* of
Bible readings, the texts for Epiphany are the same each year of the cycle.
This presents a challenge for preachers who don't like to repeat themselves
too often. But the lectionary is not disturbed by repetition. Every year it
would have us hear again Matthew's story of the Magi's visit to the infant
Jesus. Still, it is interesting how newness can come from a familiar story.
In the past, I have thought about the *journey* of the Magi; the fact that
they were *outsiders* who nevertheless responded to and were embraced by
the good news; and the *star* that guides and brings God's light into a
world of darkness. This year I found myself thinking about the *gifts* of
the Magi. I asked myself: If the wise men started this whole Christmas gift
thing, could they tell us something about their intentions for giving and
receiving? Could they tell us something about what makes for the perfect
Christmas gift?
Matthew tells us the the Magi offered their gifts to the infant
Jesus in the context of worship (2, 11), and with an attitude of
"overwhelming joy" (10). Now, strictly speaking we do not give gifts to one
another as an expression of worship. Our worship is reserved for God alone.
But it could be said that like worship, gift giving comes from the
heart--it originates as a giving of our self to another. The gifts that I
give express in a representational way the giving of myself. As storyteller
John Shea puts it: "Gift giving is the way the invisible becomes visible,
the way the hidden heart is made known, the way the spirit risks itself in
substantiation." (*Starlight: Beholding the Christmas Miracle All Year
Long*, Crossroad, 1992, p. 142)
Joy typifies the recognition that I am in fact *self*-giving into a
relationship that paradoxically brings me to a sense of completion. I don't
give *so that* I will benefit by the exchange. That is not my motive. And
yet, as I give of myself I am also filled. As a solitary person I cannot be
complete. God has created me for relationship. Joy comes in the presence of
mutual self-giving relationships. The Magi were filled with joy when they
discovered that their search was at last over--that their journey had
reached its goal, and that it was not in vain.
* * *
Gold and costly spices are not common gifts. It could be argued
that these wise men were into big gifts. But Matthew's intention was not so
much to show off the Magi's gifts. Rather, he wanted to communicate through
them that the Magi, though Gentile foreigners, recognized the infant Jesus
as a king whose reign would one day accept and embrace them. Matthew does
not imply any particular symbolism in the gifts other than the fact that
they were appropriate for a king. But the gifts of the wise men have
intrigued Christian tradition from the earliest days. Already in the second
century of the Common Era, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons offers this
interpretation:

[The Magi] showed, by these gifts which they offered, who it was that was
worshipped, *myrrh*, because it was He who should die and be buried for the
mortal human race; *gold*, because He was a King, "of whose kingdom is no
end;" and *frankincense*, because He was God, who also "was made known in
Judea," and was "declared to those who sought Him not." (*Against
Heresies*, III, ix, 2)

This may be going beyond the intentions of the text, but Raymond Brown
believes it is "a valid [interpretational] instinct nevertheless." (*The
Birth of the Messiah*, Doubleday, 1979, p. 200) John Shea comments on how
an interpretation like this gives us insight into what makes for the
perfect Christmas gift. Quoting at length:

In Christian tradition the gifts of the Wise Men become symbols of
the perfect gifts. What makes them perfect is their ability to bear and
communicate spirit. On the one hand, the gifts show that the Magi know who
the child is. The gold symbolizes his kingly humanity, the frankincense his
divinity, and the myrrh (an ointment used in embalming) foreshadows his
redemptive death. They are not fooled by the outer trappings. Their gifts
show they discern his inner reality.
On the other hand, poets have interpreted the gifts as symbols of
the Magi's inner disposition. Gold means that they offer their virtues,
frankincense shows them to be people of prayer, and myrrh represents their
willingness to sacrifice. The outer gifts tell of their inner reality. What
is hidden is revealed. Their gifts are perfect because they allow
communication between two interiors; the hearts of the Magi reach the heart
of the child. The perfect gift is one that carries one person into another
person. (*Starlight: Beholding the Christmas Miracle All Year Long*, p. 142)

So, the perfect Christmas gift is one that comes from the heart and
understands the one to whom it is given. Up to now I have suggested that it
was the wise men that originated the tradition of Christmas gift giving.
But I wonder if that is really true? Perhaps the wise men originated the
tradition of gift *exchanging*. Yes, from their hearts they understood who
it was that was to receive their gifts. But I think it was God who
originated the *giving* part. Epiphany celebrates the appearing of God in
human flesh. What a gift! The incarnation is clearly the most incredible
way in which God shows us God's heart. The incarnation is clearly the most
incredible way in which God shows us that God understands us.
According to the first chapter of Matthew, the gift God gives has
two names that embody this heart of understanding: "And you are to name him
Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (1:21) "And they shall
name him Emmanuel, which means, 'God is with us.'" (1:23) Remembering that
John Shea said: "Gift giving is the way the invisible becomes visible, the
way the hidden heart is made known, the way the spirit risks itself in
substantiation," we are proposing a way for us to joyously receive this
most perfect Christmas gift at the close of the season. May it shape our
gift giving for the days and Christmas seasons to come.

"Then opening *his* treasure chest, Jesus offered us gifts of bread and wine."
AMEN

Shalom!

Gary F. Daught
daught@theriver.com
Tucson, Arizona