Wise Up! Wisdom Doesn’t Require Gifts – That Story Is a Grift.

Every year, we hear and read the story of the Three Wisemen, depicted on lawns, church grounds, movies, and TV. It can be as irritating as nails on a chalkboard or that one awful song played on repeat for four decades. Melchior brought gold, Caspar brought frankincense, and Balthazar brought myrrh. But what if these gifts symbolize not material wealth but the wisdom they embody?

- Gold: Kingship and authority.

- Frankincense: Divinity and spirituality.

- Myrrh: Humanity and mortality.

Traditional interpretations of these gifts often clash with my understanding of how the Bible has been reshaped to serve those wishing to control or profit from its narratives. Many historians suggest Jesus was born months earlier than December, allowing churches and marketers to profit and “spin” the narrative in their favor.

I’m a skeptic about the teachings of my childhood—hook, line, and sinker. I am especially wary of organized religion when I see right-wing conservatives using Jesus’s teachings to vilify and harm marginalized groups who don’t fit their country club nativity scenes.

Yet, I believe there’s much to learn from these traditions. They exist to inspire and provoke reflection.

Rethinking Wisdom

What is wisdom? Most define it as the ability to make sound judgments based on experience, knowledge, and insights. Knowledge is what you know; wisdom is knowing when and how to use that knowledge.

What if we view wisdom not just as possession but as curiosity and inquiry? What if it’s not about knowing the answers but asking the right questions? This perspective allows us to draw on our knowledge to seek questions that could transform our way of being, thinking, and acting. What if wisdom were about self-expression? Where might you start playing where you’ve felt limited by knowledge or interpretation?

Returning to the Three Wisemen, let’s explore some questions:

- Gold: Where have you halted in your relationships with your family (the kingdom you came from)? How can you bring play, joy, and connection to those areas?

- Frankincense: Where have you stopped engaging with the sacred—be it religion, spirituality, or nature? Can you reclaim or redefine what “the divine” means to you? What new explorations might connect you to a greater purpose?

- Myrrh: Where have you stopped dreaming? Have you given up on a form of art or self-expression because you felt you didn’t belong? What if you let go of the story that you’re not good at {fill in the blank} and created space to explore?

Perhaps the true gifts of the Magi are the questions they inspire. The inquiry behind the symbols may be the greatest gift we can offer ourselves and each other during this “season of giving.”

Christmas 1976

My late mother loved to recount how, by my second Christmas, I was walking and talking. At about 20 months old, I would run to the Christmas tree, overwhelmed with joy, shouting “Pretty, pretty!” Inevitably, I’d bump into the tree or tug on the lights, causing it to topple and break ornaments. Eventually, they installed a gate around the tree to keep me at a safe distance. I’ve always loved “pretty” things. Now, I find beauty, truth, and wisdom to be the things I consider “pretty.” My mother would say, “Pretty is as pretty does,” meaning true beauty must be backed by genuine kindness and action. How does that show up for you?

Embrace the spirit of inquiry this Christmas Eve. What questions will you bring to the table this holiday season? As we celebrate this time of giving, let’s remember that the greatest gifts aren’t the ones wrapped in shiny paper but those that inspire us to think, feel, and inquire. Where can your star shine bright in the night sky, guiding others to the destination they seek?

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

—Book of Luke 2:10

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