Sugar, Wine, and Cheap Perfume
Sunday morning is dark by cloud cover. The asphalt intersection at State and 3rd is a gray sheen with last night’s rain. On my way this morning I captured a photograph of the Christmas display in front of the old courthouse. An old maple, regal in summer, the bare branches now framing strings of LED lights, rains green fire. In the background the community Christmas tree stands with multicolored lights. The sight seemed as if a blessing for this Sunday morning. Check out the image below.
The three Wise Men are said to have traveled a great distance to give expensive gifts to the infant according to the Gospel of Matthew. In the ancient world, when the man/woman-on-the-street could not read or write, individuals with formal education were recognized as privileged. Literacy was respected, carried weight. I concede that now, in the first world more people have access to the basic necessities than in late antiquity. On the other hand though literacy is widely known, scholarship is often disparaged as a sign of effete weakness.
Several days ago I heard a riff upon the recorded gifts of the Magi to the Christ Child, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In today’s world would the gifts have been sugar, wine, and cheap perfume?
A sweet treat is appreciated by everyone. Anyone who offers me a Cinnabon is wise as far as I am concerned! As for wine, what better accompaniment to a meal, and as a social lubricant? Even cheap perfume is seductive is it not?
It’s Christmas! I’l have another glass of wine.
