Something else I didn't know.

 Listening to Radio 4 in the car is usually an education and yesterday was no exception.  I happened to tune in to ' The History of the World in 100 Objects' which is absolutely brilliant and I thoroughly recommend.  Yesterday I unexpectedly gained some insight into something I had previously missed.

Frankincense.     

The radio programme was discussing an ancient artefact - a bronze sculpture of a hand- which dated to somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd century and had been an offering to a local god in an area which is now Yemen.  Here is the transcript of what was said - you will see why I found it so illuminating.

Writing in 79 AD, the Roman author Pliny the Elder explained why the Yemenis were so rich:

"The chief productions of Arabia are frankincense and myrrh... they are the richest nations in the world, seeing that such vast wealth flows in upon them from both the Roman and the Parthian empires; for they sell the produce of the sea or of their forests, while they purchase nothing whatever in return."

The "Incense Road" was in its way as important for the exchange of goods and ideas as the Silk Road. Frankincense was used by the Romans in absolutely vast quantities, and was the principal form of incense in the ancient world. The altar of every god in the Roman Empire, from Syria to Cirencester, burned with Yemeni incense. Myrrh had various uses: as an antiseptic for dressing wounds, for embalming - it was essential for Egyptian mummification - and in perfume. Although it's not a strong fragrance, it has the longest life of any scent known.  Both frankincense and myrrh were very expensive. A pound of frankincense cost the equivalent of a Roman labourer's salary for a month, and a pound of myrrh twice as much. So when the magi bring frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus, they're bringing not only gifts fit for a god - they're also as valuable as their other gift, gold.   

It never ceases to amaze me how much more there is to learn about things we think we understand completely.  I had always understood that the gifts the magi brought to Jesus were expensive and therefore showing great respect and honour.  And I had always known that myrrh was a perfume and was a prophetic gift looking forward to the time of Jesus's death.  But I had no idea that frankincense was used in the worship of gods across the whole of the middle east!  In our culture we don't bring 'stuff' to church with us to offer to God.  We throw some cash on the offering plate but its hardly an effort or a sacrifice.  In the ancient world people offered up things of value to them as acts of worship and to persuade the gods to look kindly on them.  Romans were very much into offerings.  They would throw all sorts of artefacts into rivers and bury jewellery in sacred places.  They probably didnt sing or meet together or pray or listen to sermons like we do.  They came on their own or in families and gave ' things' to show their devotion and get the attention of their deity.   So in bringing frankincense to Jesus the magi were offering worship to him - the gold and frankincense and myrrh were not presents.  They were offerings. Jesus was the living altar. They were saying that this baby wrapped in rags and lying in a food trough was the one they wanted to pray to, petition, trust and believe in.    And in so doing they were also signalling the end of the need for such offerings

Arabian aromatics had powered the religious life of the pagan Roman Empire, but when that empire converted to Christianity and no longer needed frankincense for worship, the incense trade was dealt a massive blow, contributing to a collapse in the Yemen economy. Local gods, like Ta'lab, disappeared, perhaps because they were no longer delivering the promised prosperity.

So there you have it.  Those four words ' gold, frankincense and myrrh' which we read every Christmas and skip over so quickly actually tell a whole story in themselves.  No word God speaks is extraneous or unnecessary.  There is always more to learn.