But money is dirty, incense stinks, and myrrh reeks of death. . .

I have to admit a certain amount of snickering fills me on Epiphany.  It happens for several reasons.  First of all, for all our talk of spiritual over material, the Magi brought Jesus gold.  The did not disdain the earthly treasure in favor of the heavenly one but brought the earthly treasure to Him who was and is born King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  What would God want with filthy lucre?  With ungodly mammon?  He is not swayed by earthly valuables.  Except that when the Magi came to worship Jesus, they did not leave their gifts behind nor did they mail them to Jesus after they had confirmed His identity.  They brought Him gold.  How wearisome it must be for those pastors who insist they are not called to do menial labor with money!  Yet the there it is.  They brought Jesus gold.  Why are we so squeamish talking about money in church?

Secondly, they brought Him incense.  Surely this was an error!  Jesus does not countenance smoke in church does He?  All the smug and self-serving Lutherans who cough and choke at the mere mention of incense should take note.  The Magi brought Him frankincense.  They knew who Jesus was and so they brought Him what the priest would expect and certainly what was His due.  Why are we so squeamish about incense and why do we confidently insist that either God did not intend for us to continue to use incense?  The Magi brought incense.  That should be enough for us.  Not to mention the whole historical prominence of incense in the worship of God.  Or maybe we are so full of ourselves that we would have rather the Magi brought a gift card to Dollar Tree.

Thirdly, they brought Him myrrh.  Why?  Myrrh dates back to Exodus when the Israelites used myrrh as a main ingredient in holy anointing oil.  Oh, wait, we don't anoint.  When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus go to bury Jesus they brought myrrh for the embalming process.  Oh, wait, Jesus is not dead (no crucifix) but the resurrection wipes out the death talk.  Curious, though, that the myrrh which is brought to Jesus at His birth is the final taste in His mouth at His death.  Again, smug Lutherans who do not want to look on a body on a cross might have missed this connection and dismissed the value of myrrh (quite possibly more valuable than gold).  Disposable diapers and baby wipes might have been needed more by the Holy Family, right?