December 10, 2014
What do you smell?
May the offering of our time to be in the presence
of our Lord be a blessing not only for our lives, but also our souls as we
prepare our hearts for the celebration of the entrance of the King of
Kings! AMEN.
As a child, I remember going up into my Grandmother’s attic
during one of our visits to Northeast Iowa.
Up there she had boxes of trinkets and treasures that were there for the
exploration of young children. One such
item that always caught our interest as kids was a trunk. This was not a small foot locker that we are
accustomed to see these days in Wal-Mart, but the old Steamer Trunks. It was a relic from the old country. You see my Grandparents came separately to
America through Baltimore on ships from the Czech Republic as young
children. Like most who travelled the
oceans all their family’s worldly possessions were crammed into a steamer trunk
to keep them safe until they arrived in the New World.
When we would open the steamer trunk the first thing that we
noticed, wasn’t the clothes, the memorabilia or mementoes, but it was the smell. It was not the smell that assaults us when we
go by a feed lot or dairy farm, but the smell of old clothes and long ago
perfumes that wafts through the air. The
kind of smell that is clear nostalgia of a by gone era.
This evening the second gift in our series of the Gifts of
the Magi is of Frankincense. Clearly
Frankincense has a smell, not of ‘old clothes’ or ‘steamer trunks’, but a
fragrance and aroma that people of the Old Testament knew well. Frankincense was used in the Temple and prior
to that Aaron’s people used it when there was not a place for God’s Glory to
dwell. During the time of the Exodus
from Egypt when the people were wandering in the desert Frankincense was used
as a fragrant offering to God. The clear
use of Frankincense in the Temple meant it was a priestly aroma, meant for God.
When the Magi presented Frankincense this gift was presented
on bended knee for God the Son born in a manger. By presenting Frankincense to Jesus Christ
born in the manger the Magi foretold what Jesus would be doing when He grew
older. We have all heard the story of
Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem when older and being found in the Temple with
the leaders of the Jewish Synagogue.
They saw great wisdom that came from Jesus, beyond His very years. And this gift of Frankincense as the fragrant
offering, was exactly that what Jesus would be known as for we who gather here
this evening.
Jesus is our High Priest.
Jesus goes before the Father for each and every one of us. Though born in a manger in the lowest of
circumstances, Jesus Christ took on His humanity and was humble in His
beginnings. But with the presentation of
the Gift of Frankincense was a prophecy of what Jesus would be for we Who
gather here tonight.
Frankincense offered in the sacrifice indicated how Jesus
would be sacrificed for you and for me on the Cross of Calvary for our
sins. The fragrant offering Jesus Christ
made in order that we might live would fulfill the plan of salvation and set us
free from the bondage of sin, death and the devil. We through Jesus perfect sacrifice are
offered grace and mercy beyond what we deserve.
And in Jesus sacrifice it is a pleasing aroma for His Father in
heaven. All pointed to with the opening
of a simple yet profound gift of Frankincense by the Magi.
May we who gather here this evening as we smell the pleasing
aromas of the meals, the cookies, cakes and goodies of the season, remember the
pleasing aroma of Frankincense given to Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ came in the manger, was given
the gift of Frankincense, chose to offer Himself and is the reason for the
season. Jesus Christ is the pleasing
aroma of our God Who came as our sacrifice to set all of mankind free,
including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this Second Wednesday of
Advent evening. AMEN.
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