Myrrh and Mission
Myrrh is a mystery to most people. Gold we understand, and we can make a good guess about frankincense. But what is myrrh? And why would anyone give it to a baby?
Myrrh is a fragrant resin produced when certain types of trees receive wounds that penetrate past the bark and into the wood. The resin gathers and hardens into crystals. These crystals can be burned like incense or ground into a powder that can be mixed with creams and liquids. In ancient times, myrrh was used as a beauty aid, for medicinal purposes, in worship, and in burial rites.
We see all of these uses in the Bible. Queen Esther used myrrh in her beauty preparations prior to meeting the Persian king (Esther 2:12). In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus refuses to drink the pain-dulling wine mixed with myrrh before being crucified (Mark 15:23). Myrrh played an important part in religious ritual. In the book of Exodus, God prescribes myrrh as a key ingredient of the oil used to consecrate priests as well as sacred places and things (Exodus 30:23). John’s Gospel recounts that Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus’ body for burial (John 19:39). Myrrh was likely one of the spices carried by the women who discovered the empty tomb on Easter morning. Because of these last uses, Eastern Christians name the women and men who prepared Jesus’ body for burial and accompanied him to the tomb as the myrrh-bearers.
The magi’s gift of myrrh captures all these meanings: beauty, healing, holiness, and death. And, in so doing, this gift helps us to understand Jesus’ mission in the world. The magi were searching for a king. The kingdom that Jesus came to announce is a kingdom of beauty, healing, and holiness—a kingdom inaugurated by Jesus’ saving death.
As myrrh originates in the wounds of a tree, the kingdom is born in the water and blood issuing from the wound in Jesus’ side. As a beauty aid, myrrh was renowned for restoring youthful vitality to aging skin. Similarly, in Christ all things are made new, reborn and restored. In his public ministry, Jesus announced the in-breaking of the kingdom with mighty deeds, signs, and wonders. Many of these signs were acts of healing. But these healings went beyond a return to physical health. Jesus healed lepers and the woman with a hemorrhage, ailments that excluded them from participation in the community. Similarly, by raising Jairus’s daughter and the son of the widow of Nain, he restored both them and their families, offering security and a future.
Most profoundly, Jesus’ mission was a call to holiness. Everyone who claims to follow Christ is called to follow his path of holiness. This holiness is not about abandoning a sinful world, but about embracing those in greatest need. Like the myrrh-bearers of the Gospels, we are called to accompany the poor, the outcast, the sick, and the dying, offering comfort and compassion, honoring their dignity as children of God.
Like the wise men and women throughout history who have searched for Jesus, we must ask ourselves: How can we, weak and wounded as we are, become myrrh-bearers to a world desperately in need of beauty, healing, and holiness?
—Mary Elizabeth Sperry
Mary Elizabeth Sperry holds a master’s degree in liturgical studies from the Catholic University of America. She has worked for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops since 1994 and is the author of numerous articles and books, including Scripture in the Parish: A Guide for Catholic Ministry. Visit her blog at maryelizabethsperry.com.
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