Praised be Jesus Christ! “Since golden October declined into somber November, and the apples were gathered and stored, and the land became brown sharp points of death in a waste of water and mud. The New Year waits, breathes, waits, whispers in darkness.” As we descend into the darkest days of the year, one of my favorite T.S. Eliot quotes reminds us that it won’t be long and what now lies dormant in the earth will once again be summoned to life. As we continue our Advent meditation on what we can give to Our Lord as a fitting gift at Christmas, this week we consider myrrh. As you may already know, myrrh is a resin which can be extracted from trees found in Africa, Arabia and India. It can be burned as a type of incense, but was most commonly used in the process of embalming. Bodies buried with myrrh stayed relatively incorrupt, as the myrrh was able to dry up any moisture and prevent the generation of worms (disgusting, eh?!). This gift was given to the Baby Jesus as a prophecy – His parents and apparently the Magi were well aware that He was destined to offer His life as a sacrifice that would save us from our sins. Over the centuries many parallels have been drawn between the wood of Jesus’ manger and the wood of His cross. One of my favorite stories is completely fictional, but it is delightful nevertheless. It is the story of three little trees growing up on a mountain. One day they shared their dreams about what sort of future they were hoping for and the first admitted he was hoping to become a treasure chest filled with the world’s greatest riches. The second was the most adventuresome and confessed that he was hoping to become a ship carrying great kings and travelling through dangerous waters. Finally, the third little tree admitted that he would be happy to stay and grow on the mountain, one day becoming so tall that when people walked by they would raise their eyes to Heaven and think of God. Well, years passed and things didn’t turn out for the little trees the way they had hoped. The first tree was chopped down and made into a feed box for animals. The second tree did become a boat, but not a mighty sailing ship. No, he was made into a simple fishing boat, far too small to sail in the ocean – instead, he was taken to a little lake. The third tree’s dream didn’t work out either; he was chopped down, turned into strong beams, and stored in a lumberyard for years. The trees gradually forgot about their innocent dreams until one day a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. It was then that the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world. Years passed and the fishing boat was transporting a tired traveler and his friends across the lake. The traveler fell asleep immediately, but was later awakened by a terrible storm. The traveler stretched out his hand and said “Peace” and that was the end of the storm. It was then that the second tree knew he was carrying the King of Heaven and Earth. Some months later on a Friday morning the beams were yanked from the forgotten wood pile. Carried through an angry, jeering crowd, suddenly a man’s hands and feet were nailed to him. The third tree felt ugly, harsh, and sad. But on Sunday morning the third tree knew somehow everything had changed. From now on the third tree knew that people would forever look at him and think of God’s great love and this was more than he had ever dreamed possible. The story ends with this line: “ The next time you feel down because you didn’t get what you wanted, sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you.” May God give us the faith that transforms death into life!
Your friend in Christ,
Father Martin
Your friend in Christ,
Father Martin
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