December
24

“Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh”

And° Jesus being born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came Magi from the east into Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who is born King of the Jews? For we have seen° His star in the east, and are come to worship Him. … And° when they had heard the king they departed; and lo, the star which they saw° in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the little Child was. And° having seen° the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly° great joy. And when they had come into the house, they found the little Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him; and when they had opened their treasures, they offered to Him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1–2, 9-11)

It was a custom in ancient times to give gifts … to the king …. The wise men from the east brought gifts to the Lord just born, gold, frankincense, and myrrh … and this because external gifts signified internal or spiritual gifts, namely, such as go forth from the heart. (Apocalypse Explained 661)

The gifts that were offered to Jehovah signified such things as are offered by man from the heart unto the Lord, and are accepted by the Lord. (Arcana Cœlestia 9293:1)

One can see how great the delight of heaven must be from the fact that it is the delight of everyone in heaven to share his delights and blessings with others; and as such is the character of all that are in the heavens it is clear how immeasurable is the delight of heaven …. Such sharing goes forth from the two loves of heaven, which are, as has been said, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor …. Love to the Lord is such because the Lord’s love is a love of sharing everything it has with all, since it wills the happiness of all. There is a like love in everyone of those who love the Lord, because the Lord is in them; and from this comes the mutual sharing of the delights of angels with one another. (Heaven and Hell 399)

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