Hey everybody,
We are so grateful that we get to spend a little time with you.
My name is Stacy.
My name is Barry.
Glad to be here.
So Barry and I have been talking about things to do with some winter holidays and in particular right now we were talking about Christmas and came up with this question of what is a Magi?
What is a Magi,
Barry?
Well I think a Magi is a king,
Kind of a Middle Eastern reference to a king and usually when I think of Magi I think of the three kings that came to visit the baby Jesus in the Christmas story.
That's what I usually think of with Magi.
But there's probably other things.
There are some other things.
Some other things you might think of with Magi.
There's a group of priests in Persia who were considered the Magi.
Magicians and astronomers are sometimes called Magi sorcerers.
I would fall into that as well.
There's a popular video game where the word Magi is used there and there's a really famous story called the Gift of the Magi by O.
Henry.
But all of these things,
The three kings from the Bible story and all of these other ones we just mentioned,
They all have something very important in common.
Everything about that is magical and it is giving.
Magical and giving.
It's about giving.
And in the Christmas story,
You know,
The three kings,
Magi,
Wise men who travel to meet the baby Jesus and the story goes that there was a star that they followed.
There was a large star in the heavens and they followed it and that's how they knew how to find the baby and they brought him gifts.
Gold,
Frankincense,
And myrrh.
And that's a big part of the story of the gifts that they brought to the baby and the gift that the baby was to the world.
That's true.
So gold,
I actually have a little gold here.
This is some gold flake,
Right?
Gold is a metal that they dig out of the ground and I have some frankincense.
Some frankincense right there.
What does it look like?
It looks just like sap,
Which is what it is.
It's kind of these yellowish crystals that look like little pebbles.
So that is frankincense.
Frankincense comes from a tree that grows where there's not a lot of soil.
It grows in really hard conditions.
And then myrrh is also from a tree.
It looks like a powdery brown rock,
Myrrh does.
So these three things,
Right?
We've got gold,
Which is a metal.
We have these two things that are basically sap from a tree.
Which do you think was the most valuable for people?
Well,
I think you would think that gold is the most valuable because we always think of gold as being something that we all want and you can't get enough of and that gold has the greatest value.
But I think frankincense and myrrh were actually things that didn't grow around the area where Jesus was.
And so those were very valuable because they had healing properties and I think the wise men brought them for a specific reason because they were a great gift because they had traveled so far with these gifts.
That's true.
What I love about this is that when you are giving,
Sometimes you think the thing that will be most valuable actually isn't and it's something else that happens.
Yeah?
Definitely.
So,
God kind of has given us all the opportunity to share and to give and I think the story of the wise men and Jesus is important because back in that time you would think,
Wow,
This is great having all this gold.
But the significance of bringing something from far away that is important to me,
That makes it important to you.
That's true.
So Magi,
We talked about how they are magical and they are giving.
Our question is,
Do you think you are magical and giving?
And the answer is yes.
Everyone has the ability to be magical and giving.
And you know what?
Giving is one of the best ways for me to feel good.
So not only is it good because other people are getting things,
But you feel good.
Well,
I think that's a big part of this season is when we really tap into how good we feel when we give things to other people.
We start out like all the things we want,
But I think what we wind up figuring out is when we give things away we feel good about ourselves.
That's true.
That's just the magic is.
We have an affirmation today,
Right?
We do.
Okay.
What is our affirmation?
I am a Magi.
I am good at giving and sharing.
I am a Magi.
I am good at giving and sharing.
I am a Magi and I am good at giving and sharing.
I am a Magi.
I am good at giving and sharing.
Okay.
All right.
We love spending time with you.
Thanks for hanging out with us and we'll talk to you next time.
Be well.
God bless you and God bless your Christmas.
