Thursday January 6, 2022

The gift of the magi : myrrh

So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in bandages, with the spices, as is the custom of burying among the Jews. John 19.40

Why did the wise men offer myrrh to the baby Jesus ? Like frankincense, myrrh was very valuable and sought after by ancient civilizations for its purifying scent. Myrrh is an aromatic gum resin produced by the myrrh tree. The Hebrews used it to make the holy anointing oil for priests. They used it to anoint the altar and worship objects in order to purify them.

Myrrh was also used in the composition of aromatics used to embalm the dead. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea brought thirty kilograms of a mixture of myrrh and aloe for the burial of the body of Christ, after having laid it down from the Cross. (John 19.28-40)

The myrrh, offered by the magi to the baby Jesus, symbolically underlines his humanity and therefore his finitude. In Jesus Christ, God became incarnate to fully share the human condition to the point of suffering and also passing through death. On the Cross, Jesus atoned for the sins of men. By his resurrection he conquered Satan and death.

Gold, frankincense and myrrh thus announce the mission of Jesus : he is the King of kings, the announced Messiah, the Son of God, true God and true man, who has come to reveal to us the love of his Father and to us. show the way to Heaven.

Bernard Grebille

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Proposed reading : Gospel according to John, chapter 19, verses 30 to 42.

Source (Live Today)