May We Be the Magi

May We Be the Magi John L. Saxon UU Fellowship of Raleigh December 24, 2008

O. Henry’s short story, The Gift of the Magi, is one of my favorite Christmas stories. Although it was written 102 years ago and its references to $8 per week furnished flats, curling irons, and gold pocket watches seem quaint and outdated, there is something about it that transcends the years and is still relevant today—especially this year when so many Americans are facing the sort of economic difficulties that the story’s characters, Della and Jim, faced.

The Gift of the Magi, however, is “just” a story. Della and Jim weren’t “real” people. The events related by O. Henry never happened except in the mind of the author.

It’s just a story. Just like the story of Jesus’ birth.

Although Jesus was a real person, the stories about his birth in the gospels of Matthew and Luke are fictional, not biographical.

Jesus probably wasn’t born on Christmas day. He was probably 2 born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. And there’s no good reason to believe that three wise men from the east saw a star or comet and followed it to Mary and Joseph’s house in Bethlehem, bringing with them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the baby

Jesus.

Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth and the magi’s journey to

Bethlehem is “just” a story—just like O. Henry’s story about Della and Jim in their run-down apartment in New York City on

Christmas eve. Neither story is literally “true.” But if we read carefully between the lines, we can, I believe, discover the truths that these stories hold for us tonight.

According to Matthew’s story, the three wise men brought gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh as birthday or Christmas presents for the baby Jesus. And, as every parent and baby knows, gold, frankincense, and myrrh are exactly the gifts that every newborn baby wants and needs! Mary and Joseph probably 3 exchanged the magi’s gifts for diapers and a high chair as soon as the wise men left town!

So maybe Matthew and O. Henry were wrong. Maybe the wise men and their gifts weren’t so wise after all!

And what about Della and Jim?

Della cut off her beautiful brown hair, which she and Jim treasured, and spent as much money as Jim earned in an entire week to buy him an expensive platinum watch chain—a watch chain that he couldn’t use because he’d sold his grandfather’s gold watch to buy Della an expensive set of hair combs—a set of tortoise shell combs that she couldn’t use (at least for a while) because she’d cut off her hair.

Della and Jim were, in O. Henry’s words, “two foolish children … who most unwisely sacrificed … the greatest treasures of their house.”

So what’s the truth of these two Christmas stories? 4

O. Henry tells us that the magi were wise men—wonderfully wise men—and that their gifts were wise ones. The magi were wise because, unlike King Herod, they recognized that a young child born to poor parents in a small village was the Messiah—the king of the Jews—and brought him gifts that were fit for a king.

And O. Henry goes on to say that of all who give and receive gifts, Della and Jim, despite their foolish and unwise sacrifices, were even wiser than the wise men who brought gifts to Jesus in

Bethlehem long, long ago. Of all those who give and receive gifts, he says, Della and Jim (and others like them) are always and everywhere the wisest because the gifts they gave each other were gifts of unselfish love, gifts of their hearts, and gifts of themselves.

That, I believe, is one of the truths of these Christmas stories.

Della, Jim, and the magi were truly wise.

And, to me, another truth of these stories is that we, too, are the magi—that we, too, can be the magi. 5

It’s easy, of course, to lose sight of the true meaning of

Christmas—and to lose sight of our own magi-ness—in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season: the Christmas displays that go up in stores the day after Halloween, the crowded parking lots at malls, the shopping and buying, wrapping and mailing. Maybe Della, Jim, and the wise men felt the same way as they ran around frantically on Christmas eve looking for those last-minute, perfect Christmas presents: platinum watch chains, tortoise shell hair combs, gold, frankincense, and myrrh!

Christmas is about giving. And I don’t have anything against giving—or getting—Christmas presents (even though shopping for Christmas presents isn’t at the top of my list of favorite things to do)!

It’s easy, though, to focus so much on the “stuff” we give, the

“stuff” we want, and the “stuff” we get, and lose sight of the meaning behind the “stuff” we give and receive at Christmas. It’s easy to forget in the midst of the shopping and buying that the gifts that matter most are the gifts that are given from our hearts 6 and from our deepest selves, the gifts that show the deep love, affection, and connection between the giver and receiver, the gifts that are truly priceless regardless of their cost.

But there is, I know, a magi within each of us, within each of you, within me, within everyone everywhere and not only a

Christmastime.

I don’t think I’ve ever given anyone a Christmas present that comes anywhere close to matching the Christmas presents that

Della and Jim gave each other. But I do remember the first

Christmas present that I gave to Miriam (my spouse) more than thirty-five years ago.

We were both college students and had only been dating a few months. I knew I was deeply in love with her. But I didn’t have any idea what I should give her for Christmas. After looking all over town, I finally settled on a small, porcelain Hummel figurine of a young schoolgirl. The figurine that’s standing next the crèche here tonight. 7

I think it cost about $20, which was a lot of money back in

1971. It wasn’t something Miriam wanted or needed. But it reminded me of my grandmother’s Hummel collection. And the little schoolgirl was like Miriam: young and pretty, smart, independent, and adventurous.

It was a gift from my heart. And it’s a gift that she has treasured over the years. I was, on that Christmas eve, the magi.

Over the years, before and since that Christmas, I’ve sometimes acted more like Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch than

Della or Jim. But the magi within me has given many wonderful and priceless gifts to others. And I’ve received more wonderful and priceless gifts than I could ever count from strangers, friends, and loved ones who were magi in disguise.

There are magi here tonight. We are the magi. You are the magi. 8

What wise gifts—what gifts of the heart—will we give this

Christmas and throughout the coming year?

Will it be the gift of time shared with family or friends? Will it be the gift of story and memory? Will it be the gift of a kind word, a listening ear, and an open heart? Will it be the gift of renewed friendship or new connections? Will it be the gift of building community, helping others in need, caring for the earth, or acting for peace and justice?

These are the gifts that matter most this Christmas and throughout the year. These are the gifts that are priceless. These gifts—the gifts of love, the gifts of our hearts, the gifts of our selves

—are the gifts of the magi.