14 East – The Magi
Adam Ewell Day & Alicia Katherine Day – Donors
The number of visitors from the East is not mentioned in the Biblical account of their visit to the infant Jesus; we have assumed three from the gifts they brought, each depicted in this panel, from left to right frankincense, myrrh, and gold. In addition to the honor and status implied by the value of the gifts of the magi, scholars think that these three were chosen for their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself. Gold was a gift fit for a king, and represents his kingship. Frankincense was a valuable and important gum resin produced by scraping the bark of certain native species of trees and then harvesting the beads of resin after they have dried, and used as incense in the Temple – a symbol of his priestly role. Myrrh is a fragrant spice derived from the sap of a tree native to the Near East and was a key ingredient in the oil mixture used to prepare bodies for burial – a prefiguring of his sacrificial death.
See also: 16 East – Epiphany; 3 West – Manger.
When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. —Matthew 2:10-12