Frankincense

In  my childhood, we opened Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas morning, we all tumbled out of the house while it was still dark, piled into the family auto, and headed out to the six am service at the First Baptist Church. While it was still dark, we were guided into our seats by ushers with flashlights.  While it was still dark, the candles in the windows were lit by a select group of young virgins in white dresses.  I can't remember if I was ever picked but I do remember that I sure wanted to be.

While it was still dark, a brightly glowing star made its way overhead, from the back of the sanctuary to the front, while on the podium were a silent Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus.  The choir sang Christmas hymns in the dark and first the shepherds arrived to pay their respects.  Then, following the star, came the Wise Men.

They had it timed just right so all of this happened before the sun came up.  Then as the celebration was heating up and the singing was more and more enthusiastic  ( it had moved from Away in the Manger, and Silent Night, to Hark the Herald and Joy to the World), the daylight crept in from the windows until it was bright morning.

The gospel from St. Luke was read, "and it was in the same country that shepherd were abiding in their fields at night keeping watch over their sheep..." and ..."wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger".  For those of us who grew up with the St. James Bible, it was a poetic and beautiful reading that sticks in your  memory, a line here and a line there.  Other translations of the Bible might be more accurate (or might not) but surely there is not another English version that is more beautiful.

And of course in that story, enter the Wise Men.  I see camels and the star and a great progression over the desert.  And I can smell the sweet, warm fragrance of the frankincense and myrrh that they are bringing.  I think that their beautiful long robes and regal bearing make the whole thing quite wonderful.  Clearly they were astrologists and while the word "magi" has been translated as" wise men" and even "kings", it actually comes closer to "magician".  Naturally the Bible translators would not want to say that, seeing as how they don't like the magician or shaman stuff, but there it is.  They looked to the stars, they interpreted the meaning, they had prophetic dreams and they came to see the King Baby.  And they brought frankincense, gold and myrrh.

Perhaps they were also healers.  The Bible doesn't say that, but frankincense has been known as a powerful healer for at least 5000 years.  The sap of the Boswellia Sacra tree has been harvested and used as medicine and incense throughout the world.  It is gathered somewhat like maple syrup, but no bucket is needed. Instead of a flowing thin liquid that needs to be cooked down to a thick syrup, it is a thick resin that forms bubbles on the outside of the tree and then hardens.  The bark is carefully slit by trained harvesters and then left to weep this precious fluid that traditionally was even more expensive than gold.  These small desert trees are only found in a few places today.  Most of them are in Oman.

If you have ever walked into a Catholic Church, you have smelled frankincense.  It is considered a sacred incense and has been used in religious ceremonies for thousands of years.  Before the Christian Church, it was burned in Jewish temples.  It has been used in India, China, Greece and Persia.  It seems that it was revered by the whole world at the time of Jesus' birth.  As amazing as it seems, the range of symptoms it is supposed to heal go from asthma to depression to ulcers.  It is also said to help with colds, diphtheria, headaches, high blood pressure, laryngitis, typhoid, wounds, hyperactivity, pneumonia, sciatica pain, warts, coma, cancer...shall I go on?  I am pretty sure the list would be shorter to name what it doesn't heal.

Given all this, it seems a perfect gift for a family who will be wandering and escaping from Herod.  It seems a perfect gift for any of us.  I have been putting it on the bottoms of my feet for the past few nights at bedtime and have been sleeping soundly. I am sure, just like anything, that the quality of oil matters.  The oil I use is pure and can even be ingested..not that I am recommending the taste.  And even if the pure oil were not ingestible and even if it were not useful for anything medicinal, the fragrance is, appropriately enough, heavenly.