Rector's Newsletter for December 2024.

And They Brought Him Gifts…

At Christmas, I often wonder: what did Mary and Joseph do with the gifts the Wise Men brought?

For a humble carpenter’s family, the gold must have been a blessing, but frankincense and myrrh? What might they have thought as they held these strange and precious treasures?

Perhaps some of you recall the humorous scene in 'Monty Python’s Life of Brian', where the Wise Men mistakenly visit the wrong stable. They offer their gifts to Brian’s bewildered mother, who dismisses the frankincense and myrrh but perks up significantly at the sight of gold!

Realising their mistake, the Wise Men retrieve their gifts and head next door, where the true Messiah is surrounded by Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds and a heavenly glow. While it’s a funny twist, it serves as a reminder of the extraordinary significance of those three gifts.

The symbolism is clear: gold for a king, frankincense for the divine role of Jesus as our priest, and myrrh, foreshadowing the sacrifice He would make.

But beyond their meanings, these gifts were tangible affirmations of who Jesus was and is—the long-awaited Saviour, the Light of the World.

I like to imagine Mary treasuring those gifts, not for their material value, but as signs of God’s faithfulness. They must have been constant reminders of the promises made to her by the angel and the incredible truth that her child, her Jesus, was God’s greatest gift to a waiting world.

As Christmas approaches, we too are offered a gift—the ultimate gift of love in Jesus Christ.

My prayer for you is that you embrace this gift, not as something to measure or quantify, but as Mary did, with awe and gratitude.

May it fill your heart with joy, hope, and peace, as you ponder the great love of God revealed in His Son.

With every blessing this Christmastide,

Revd Paul

The Revd Paul Wilson

Rector of the Epworth Group of Churches

Priest-in-Charge of the Belton Group of Churches

Assistant Curate of the Crowle Group of Churches and the Haxey and Owston Ferry Plurality

Rural Dean of the Isle of Axholme Deanery