Frankincense: Frankly, it's long past time to regift



(Frankincense)

Although mankind has been literally milking Boswellia (from which frankincense is derived) for millennia, not much has been done to repay the favor.  Frankly, if this trend continues, the precious gift of frankincense might be forever relegated to history.

Reuters reports that the “number of Boswellia trees could

decline by 90% in the next 50 years due to unchecked “fire,

grazing and insect attack.”  This decline is happening so fast that production of frankincense “could be halved over the next 15 years.”  Wikipedia reports that frankincense is

obtained by “slashing the bark, which is called striping, and

allowing the exuded resins to bleed out and harden.”  These

hardened resins are (appropriately enough) called “tears.”

A few such tears just aren’t enough.  The same trees are tapped two and three times a year.  Often the final taps (rhymes with “spinal taps”) are considered to have the best quality tears.  The tears of trees that sprout from rock in the most unforgiving of environments are the ones most highly valued.  (Were they brought to the Christ child as a foreshadowing of the harshness that He, too, would encounter?)

Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the words and melody of We Three Kings of Orient

Are, stressed the priestly aspect of frankincense in his lyrics.  Hopkins described this gift from the Magi with these words:  Frankincense to offer have I   Incense owns a Deity nigh   Prayer and praising, all men raising   Worship Him, God most high.   

Certainly, the precious gift of frankincense deserves some sort of loving reciprocity.  Reuters reminds us that it’s not yet too late for this.  Incentives can be offered “to ensure farmers work harder to protect Boswellia trees.”  More can be done to prevent fires and beetle attacks, and large areas could be “set aside and protected for five to 10 years to allow Boswellia saplings to become established.”

It’s well past the time to repay these giving trees for all the precious tears that they’ve shed on our behalf.

Resources

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45744432

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankincense

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boswellia_sacra

Copyright December 22, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved