Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
Cursillo and other Christian movements like it, make a promise that if we follow the method of coming together for one hour each week in small groups, ideally 3-4 people, to discuss our prayer life, study and our Christian action that we can find hapiness the rest of our life. I am not saying that life will be without trials. WhatI am saying is that if we intimately know and communicate with our Lord we can find peace and joy no matter what life’s circumstances might be.
This past weekend was Epiphany Sunday. Perhaps the gifts of the wise men and the methodology of Cursillo have a direct connection. We all know the Three Wise Men brought gifts from afar to the new born king. Today I invite you to take a new look at their three gifts and see if you see a correlation to the gifts we are called to bring today.
Cursillo and its spin off movements teach us about the “tripod” of Piety, Study and Action. I will endeavor to make a connection, a sort of ahh ha moment, in fact you could call it an epiphany, between the three gifts of the wise men of long ago and the three gifts we can bring to our King today.
This idea of meeting weekly in small groups of Christians is not unique to people who have made a Cursillo weekend, it is a way of life for all Christians. This methodology of meeting weekly gives us a way to review and be accountable to others in our group about our piety, study and action. For emphasis let me say this: daily prayer, study and Christian action are three things every Christian who ever lived or ever will live, should employ as part of their response to Christ’s call. Let’s look further.
It has been said that fools do not search, because they think they are wise and wise men do search, because they know they are not. Gathering together in small groups allows us to search ourselves and evaluate our response as followers of Christ. The three wise men were eagerly searching and were keeping watch by night. We too should eagerly embrace the practice of keeping watch each week in our small groups for Christ to be revealed in both ourselves and those we meet with.
Ultimately our highest calling in life is to love and adore God and in turn love our fellow man. Jesus is priest, prophet and king. Let’s look at what gifts we can bring to Him.
Gold was the gift for a king. It was a form of adoration to that king. Our king is Jesus Christ and our form of adoration is our prayer life (piety). It is through prayer, that we communicate our love to God.
Jesus as a prophet brought us the good news. To love Jesus we must know Him. Frankincense was a gift for a prophet. Our study is the gift of our frankincense. Just as the smell of the frankincense envelops everyone and rises to the Heavens lets allow our study to do the same. We must strive to know ourselves and strive to know God.
Finally, myrrh was an expensive burial spice. Jesus as priest, offered Himself up as a sacrifice for the atonement of all of our sins. Through this sacrifice He opened the gates of Heaven for those who believe in Him. Myrrh was the most fitting gift for one who would die for all of us. The gift of our myrrh is to tell everyone through our words and actions about the good news of His death and resurrection.
Click on any of these to read what I have previously written about Piety, Studyand Action.
Are we fools or are we wise? Three wise men long ago brought three gifts for baby Jesus.Can we make the commitment now at the beginning of this New Year to bring our gifts of Piety, Study and Action to our priest, prophet and king, Jesus our savior?
Closing Prayer
Lord give us the desire each day to spend time with You in prayer and study and after the time spent with you, guide us through Your Holy Spirit to the people with whom You want us to share Your good news. Help us Lord to be wise men and woman as we bear our gifts to You. Amen!
Feel free to forward this to as many friends as you want. Also, I love to hear from you. Click here to send me an email. Finally, past emails are archived at www.4thdayletters.com.
Follow Up To Last Week’s 4th Day Letter
If you haven’t yet read it click here. I received some powerful heart felt responses and I wanted to share an excerpt from one of them with you.
“Hi Brian, thank you for bringing up this subject. My marriage of 30 years was destroyed because my ex-husband is addicted to pornography. That led him into the world of internet swinging sites and indiscriminate encounters and infidelity. Eventually, it led to STD’s and finally divorce. The trauma to me and my children has been severe. I also have to acknowledge the trauma my ex-husband has caused himself. I can’t imagine what it is like to live with what he’s done and the lifelong consequences he’s incurred for all of us.”
Last week’s email was primarily directed at those of you who do not have this problem. Iimplore you to reach out to others who might. Offer them a caring and understanding and non-judgmental opportunity to admit this weakness and help them to seek help and begin to recover.
“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.”
-Sophocles, Greek Poet, Philosopher 469-399BC
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