“They Offered Him Gifts”
©2015 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
Gospel: (Matthew 2:1-12 / The Epiphany of The Lord)
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: `And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'" Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.”
Reflection: My Friends,
What an absolutely beautiful day for us to celebrate today. As the 3 Kings followed a star in the sky to seek out Jesus, the one true King of Kings; we to must seek Him out no matter where it brings us, no matter how long it takes. And then once we find Him, like the three kings; let us offer up our “gifts” our life, our very best, whatever it is we cherish or possess in this life, give it all to Him. What have your surrendered to Him? Have you spent a portion of your precious life seeking Him out? And then when you found Him, did you give Him all you have? …as He has given all to us, as He has given all to you?
Hmm a little harsh yes, but true to the core in what we need to be hearing and doing. I am not about “apologetic's” in my reflections; we must be bold and honest and to the point in our faith. To me anything less isn’t worthy to give to my Lord. No apology needs to be given to the world about Jesus, our faith and what we must do. How do your gifts measure up with what the three Wise Men offered to Jesus upon finding Him?
The Gold offered represents the highest value of our personal possessions, true charity is all about giving from that which is OURS… true Charity comes out of our heart, out of our wallets, out of our storehouses, out of our accounts, out of our flesh… True Charity means without question we give it all up; and not just for any old reason, but rather because we love Him –Jesus Christ with all our hearts…
The Frankincense is the true incense of a most devoted personal prayer life. That gift which is so precious to give to another; is even more precious when we give it to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Take up your Rosary every single day, embrace those beautiful, wonderful beads; the Rosary is all about the Life and Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Yes it is about Mary too, His most precious Mother, but keep this in mind; it is her constant presence with Jesus, that we learn about in her life, not only as His Mother does she seek Him out -but also as an obedient servant of God, she stays the course of her life seeking Him out, being with Him, just as we must do our entire life. We must be like Mary –to be with Jesus…
The Myrrh is of the truest of our life’s sacrifices and suffering; that which we offer up to Him, that which we embrace loving Him. Without complaint, without pointing a finger; rather with a loving heart suffering as Jesus did, we must learn through Jesus -He who died for us, how to suffer and how to make sacrifices pleasing to God. No one is suffering because of God, rather we are suffering because the world does not love our Lord. We simply suffer because we must in many ways tolerate the responsibilities of the world and life around us; it consumes and wastes our precious and limited time, when instead we should be loving and worshiping Him our entire life.
Pondering these thoughts today: How do we live our lives? Do we give “Jesus” our best, most valued possessions or do we hoard them and embrace, worship them -rather than embracing and loving Him? Is our private prayer life a gift beyond gifts, our best? Do we even have a prayer life? Don’t underestimate that one gift we can give Him, even if we live in poverty, prayer is a priceless gift we can constantly give to all, especially when we ourselves have nothing but the clothes on our backs. What about our suffering? Do you suffer? Do you make sacrifices? Or are you above that, does your life reflect so much power and strength financially that suffering is something you can avoid at all costs, because you can afford to avoid it??
Hmmm interesting questions to consider I think. In all this I pray that your heart opens to Jesus …maybe in ways it never has …maybe in ways it should …maybe in ways it need to… You decide, but please decide, when you truly listen to Jesus in your heart, in His presence, before the altar. Don’t hold anything back, remember He didn't, He laid down His life to save ours. Ours which is unworthy and unclean; He surrendered His life, a Holy and Living Sacrifice for all… FOR YOU !!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
