“You Yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your records?” ~ Psalm 56:8
“Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” ~ Matthew 2:11
“The story I’m going to tell is a horrible one…” ~ Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book X
In honor of Epiphany and the New Year, I have one more Advent thought. New Year: the time of new beginnings. That was certainly why the magi followed the star, after all. They knew it was the dawn of a new era, and so they wandered to find the one responsible.
They found a child with his mother, and they worshipped, giving him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
We always talk of myrrh as symbolic of Jesus’ future death; however, I’m convinced that God – the redeemer of all stories, ours and otherwise – has another symbolic meaning for myrrh, as the myth of Myrrha will show.
However, I must warn you: Ovid’s disclaimer is quite fitting. This is truly a sad tale; and yet, when we see the world through God’s eyes, it is a desperately poignant one that shows how God offers redemption even for the most sordid of sins…
Lovely Myrrha
Myrrha was a princess of Cyprus renowned for her beauty. She could have any suitor in the land, and her father King Cinyras was gracious: he was willing to let her choose.
To Myrrha’s horror, however, she realized she could not choose any of the suitors, for she loved her own father with an unnatural love. Refusing to live in such agony, and knowing her own wickedness, she resolved to hang herself. Just as she was tying the noose, her loving nurse came in and stopped her. The crafty nurse urged Myrrha to tell her why she’d do such a thing, and after many pleadings and tears Myrrha finally confessed her secret.
Although the nurse “proceeded to admonish the girl at length, to rid her, if she could, of a love so disastrous,”[1] Myrrha was determined to die if her love went “unsatisfied.”[2] Thus, the nurse devised a plan to trick Cinyras into sleeping with his daughter…
Myrrha’s Shame
Cinyras fell for the trick, and because it was always dark when she arrived, Myrrha became one of her father’s favorite mistresses. But after some time, he wanted to see her face. When he did, he was horror struck. He grabbed his sword to kill his daughter, but Myrrha fled.
She did not stop running until she reached the Arabian desert, finding along the way that she was with child. Finally, in despair, she prayed that she would be banished from the realms of the living and the dead, for fear of “contaminating” either.[3] The gods heard her prayer: they turned her into a myrrh tree.
Ovid says this in closing about our poor Myrrha: “Though she lost her former feelings when she lost her body, yet she still weeps, and warm drops flow from the tree…and the myrrh that drips from her trunk retains its mistress’ name. Men will speak of it to all eternity.”[4]
Myrrha’s Redemption!
How can God ever redeem such a dreadful myth? Only at the feet of Jesus.
I’ve long loved Psalm 56:8. The assurance that God knows of our wanderings – records them even! – and saves all our precious tears is astounding. As we head into this new year, we might feel as if we’re wandering hopeless and helpless – just like Myrrha. Maybe, like Myrrha, we feel our sin is too great to forgive.
Our tears, bottled like Myrrha’s, can only find redemption at the feet of Jesus. Myrrha, who did unspeakable wickedness and had everlasting shame, had her tears brought to Jesus by the magi. And he redeemed them.
Apart from Jesus’ redeeming power, this story is revolting. Apart from the forgiveness and cleansing Jesus brought when He died upon the cross, there is no way to make this story happy.
However, when seen through the redeeming light of the Bethlehem star, it takes on a new and poignant meaning. It redeems the sins of Myrrha – completely washing them away. Myrrha is no longer a name of infamy; instead, Christian circles talk highly of the spice that bears her name. Myrrh – that blessed fragrance denoting Jesus’ sacrificial death.
Redemption like Myrrha’s
Although Myrrha is fictional, she is nevertheless redeemed by Jesus. If Jesus can redeem Myrrha, He can redeem you. If Jesus can cleanse Myrrha of her sins, He can cleanse you of yours. If Jesus knows of Myrrha’s wanderings, you can rest assured that He knows of your wanderings and keeps all your precious tears in a bottle; and one day, you’ll lay them at His feet.
As we head into the new year, I pray you remember that no matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, Jesus came for YOU. He loves you desperately, forever and always.
Sources
[1] Ovid, Metamorphoses, translated by Mary M. Innes, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1983, 236.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ovid, Metamorphoses, 238
[4] Ibid.
