We Three Kings

1. We Three Kings of Orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain,
Moor and mountain,
Following yonder Star.

CHORUS.
O Star of Wonder, Star of Night,
Star with Royal Beauty bright,
Westward leading,
Still proceeding,
Guide us to Thy perfect Light.

2. Born a King on Bethlehem plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King for ever,
Ceasing never
Over us all to reign.
O Star, &c.

3. Frankincense to offer have I,
Incense owns a Deity nigh:
Prayer and praising
All men raising,
Worship Him God on High.
O Star, &c.

4. Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;—
Sorrowing, sighing,
Bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
O Star, &c.

5. Glorious now behold Him arise,
King, and God, and Sacrifice;
Heav’n sings Hallelujah:
Hallelujah the earth replies.
O Star, &c.

(J. Hopkins. Source.)

Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx35_DRIZ8g

The visit of the wise men is celebrated as the Christian feast day of The Epiphany (6th January) which was also known as Twelfth night and marked the end of the extended period of the traditional Christmas festivities, a last chance to celebrate before heading back to work and facing the reality of the long weeks of winter cold and Lenten fasting ahead, although with the hope brought by lengthening days and increasing light.

Chapter 2 of Matthew’s gospel (here) describes the visit of the three kings, which seems to have taken place some months or even years after Jesus’ birth. The ‘kings’ or magi (‘wise men;’ ‘magician’ comes I think from the same word root) describe following a star which appeared when Jesus was born. Herod’s response (see the Coventry Carol) is to kill all the boys under 2 years old “in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi” about when the star had appeared. So it probably didn’t happen at the same time as the stable and the shepherds- sorry! 

There are various explanations of what the 'star' was, but one candidate is that it was a conjunction- when two planets are near each other- of Jupiter (which represented kingship in the ancient world) and Saturn (which apparently had some connection with Israel, though I can't find a source for that except a sermon recently).  A similar conjunction reaches its nearest point today (see here). Ultimately though I'd suggest what the star was matters less than what happened.

Both words and music were written by (yet another) American minister, John Henry Hopkins Jr. in 1857 for a Christmas pageant at the theological seminary where he taught. The intention was that verses 2, 3 and 4 would be sung as solos by the kings in turn, with the first and final verses sung together. In my experience all the men want to do the ‘myrrh’ verse! The carol sets out the traditional interpretation of the three gifts brought by the wise men (we don’t know if there were actually three, Matthew just tells us there was more than one and we tend to assume there were three because there are three gifts described).

Gold is seen as an indicator that Jesus will be a king. This is what got Herod worried, of course- the idea of a new king threatening his power.  In the end, this Herod was dead before Jesus began his ministry, but his successor, also called Herod, participated in mocking Jesus before his crucifixion by having a royal robe and crown of thorns placed on him. Jesus talked a lot about ‘the kingdom’ but again it wasn’t the sort of kingdom Herod had in mind.

The second gift was frankincense, or incense. Still used in worship in some churches today (I know some people who can be dangerous with an incense-wafting thurible!) this is seen as a sign that Jesus will be a priest, and also hints at his being God, worthy of worship. The priest in the Old Testament was seen as a mediator between God and humanity. Later in the New Testament, Jesus is indeed described as a High Priest (Hebrews 4 v14-15)[1], who is both sacrificer and sacrifice.

The ‘myrrh’ verse takes up this theme of sacrifice. Myrrh was used in the preparation of bodies for burial, and was also used as a painkiller medicine- foreshadowing Jesus’ death and burial.  Hebrews uses the image of the Old Testament ‘sin-offering’ sacrifice to describe how Jesus takes away our sins and repairs our relationship with God. It’s one image of how this works, and you might find others helpful to build up a fuller picture, but it is helpful as a metaphor.

But the story doesn’t end with burial. The final verse reminds us of that and brings the theme back to praise- “Heaven sings alleluia, alleluia the earth replies” -once again the whole earth, not just a few people, joins in the song of praise.

I’m reminded of Mary, Jesus’ mother, seeing the shepherds and wise men worshipping her tiny child, and ‘treasuring up all these things and pondering them in her heart.’  What did she feel when she saw her child crucified? Did she ask God why he had to die? Did she trust God, despite not understanding? It’s hard to trust, when you have to watch people you love suffer, or see people treated unfairly, or face bleakness and hardship. It really is hard to set all that alongside the hope we’ve found in many carols, and find something to sing joyfully about. But the hope is still there, maybe hidden, maybe drowned out some of the time- but still there.

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[1] Hebrews in general would be a good place to look to understand the references going on in this carol, but it’s not the easiest book to get your head round. If you’re looking for an easier read, I recommend Matthew, although Luke is generally my favourite gospel.