^j Wise men from afar are still seeking that cradle. All the great religions of the earth are really feeling for Christ. The con- summation of all deep thought and aspiration is in Him. And, although often unknowingly, all the sovereign thinkers do Him reverence. The greatest of men have in successive generations made that cradle the shrine of their sincerest worship. In the corn-fields the heaviest heads bow most, and the mightiest in- tellects have done the Master lowliest reverence. All the ground is strewn with the tokens of their homage — sublime poems, harps and organs, deep philosophies, eloquent orations, rich sculpture, delightful pictures, magnificent architecture, dedicated to His praise and glory. Genius brings its choicest products to His feet, and thinks them poor.1
^| Have you noticed that the three Wise Men are represented in art as men of different ages ? One is old, one is middle-aged, and one is young. And the reason why they are so represented is because of a tradition which came from the lips of that great traveller Marco Polo. He recounts that when he got to Persia he made every effort to find out more about the Wise Men. He was shown their tomb, but that did not satisfy him. He wanted to hear something more about them, and he could not find any one who could give him any information. At last in his travels he
1 W. L. Watkinson.
30 THE MAGI
came to a little town which rejoiced in the name of Cala Ataper- istan, or the town where they worshipped fire, and he inquired the reason of its name. They told him it was because it was from that town that three men — three Kings — had started to worship some great Being who was horn in the West, and whose star they had followed. He goes on to say that of these three men one was old, one middle-aged, and one young, and they followed the star, taking with them their gifts — gold, frankincense, and myrrh ; gold to give to the great Being if He should turn out to be a king ; frankincense to offer if the great Being should have some- thing of the Deity about Him; myrrh if He were a physician. And when they came to the stable of Bethlehem they went in one at a time. First went in the old man, and instead of finding what he expected, he found an old man who talked with him. He left and was followed by the man of middle-age. He in his turn entered and was met by a Teacher of his own years who spoke with him. When the young man entered he in his turn found a young Prophet. Then the three met together outside the stable and marvelled — How was it that all three had gone in to worship this Being who was just born, and they had found not a child but three men of different ages ? The old man had found the old, the middle-aged the middle-aged, and the young the young. And so taking their gifts they go in all together, and are amazed to discover that the Prophet is then a baby of twelve days old ! Each separately sees in Christ the reflection of his own condition, the old man sees the old, the middle-aged the middle- aged, and the young the young : but when they go in all together they see Christ as He is. We shall all find in Christ the answer to our needs.1
3. The sincerity of their worship was proved by their gifts — "gold and frankincense and myrrh." We know what gold is, but the other gifts are unfamiliar in our day. Frankincense was an aromatic resin, used for perfume and also in the sacrifices. Myrrh was a highly-prized article of commerce, and, like frank- incense, was an odorous gum. All these gifts represented value. We do not know the financial ability of these men, but it is safe to say that their offerings adequately represented their means. More significant than the seen was the unseen offering that they made. In the lowly house they bowed themselves before the Child and worshipped Him. Not content with bringing their rare gifts of valuable substances, they gave themselves.
1 W. Gascoyne Cecil, in The Church Family Newspaper, Jan. 20, 1911V)p. 48.
ST. MATTHEW n. i, 2 31
TJ The old Media?val interpretation of the offered gold as signifying recognition of His kingship, the frankincense of His deity, and the myrrh of His death, is so beautiful that one would fain wish it true. But it cannot pretend to be more than a fancy. We are on surer ground when we see in the gifts the choicest products of the land of the Magi, and learn the lesson that the true recognition of Christ will ever be attended by the spontaneous surrender to Him of our best.1
■J| I suppose that the gold and frankincense and myrrh which the Eastern sages brought, represented the most valued treasures of each which they hastened to lay before the feet of the infant Christ. Even so, the heathen nations will all have their con- tribution to bring. The Indian will bring his mysticism and his deeply religious nature ; the Chinese his patience and endurance and contentment ; the Japanese his sense of discipline and chivalry ; the Buddhist his kindliness and lofty ideals ; the Mohammedan his strong sense of the oneness of God and his faith and resignation. The Christian Church as it is at present needs all these elements.2