Worship Him!

Good Monday morning, my friends.

Yesterday, our pastor preached on Matthew 2:1-12:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

  "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 

       are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; 

   for out of you will come a ruler 

       who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The point of the sermon was that even today, people react to Jesus in one of the three ways identified in this passage.  We either:

1.  Ignore Him - the chief priests and teachers of the law knew where the messiah was to be born, and the arrival of the Magi should have been a pretty strong clue that it was about to (or just had) happened, but nothing in this story indicates they went to Bethlehem to see Him!

2.  Resist Him - Herod wanted to remain the only king in the area, and in his own life.  He was not about to bow down before another.

or

3.  Worship Him - the Magi, these mystical wise men from "the East" brought gifts, and "they bowed down and worshiped him".

These responses are very common.  Many people know about Jesus, but ignore Him, hoping He won't interfere with their lives.  Some resist Him and sometimes, like Herod,  even try to appear "religious" in the process: "report to me, so that I too may go and worship him".   And of course, some go to worship and offer gifts.  Personally, I do all three of these at various times.  The question is: which of the three responses are we having today?

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

I believe in Jesus Christ and in the beauty of the gospel begun in Bethlehem.

I believe in the one whose spirit glorified a little town; 

and whose spirit still brings music to persons all over the world, 

in towns both large and small. 

I believe in the one for whom the crowded inn could find no room, 

and I confess that my heart still sometimes wants to exclude Christ from my life today.

I believe in the one who the rulers of the earth ignored and the proud could never understand; 

whose life was among common people, 

whose welcome came from persons of hungry hearts.

I believe in the one who proclaimed the love of God to be invincible:

I believe in the one whose cradle was a mother's arms, 

whose modest home in Nazareth had love for its only wealth, 

who looked at persons and made them see what God's love saw in them, 

who by love brought sinners back to purity, 

and lifted human weakness up to meet the strength of God.

I confess my ever-lasting need of God: 

The need of forgiveness for our selfishness and greed, 

the need of new life for empty souls, 

the need of love for hearts grown cold.

I believe in God who gives us the best of himself.

I believe in Jesus, the son of the living God, 

born in Bethlehem this night, 

for me and for the world. 

(http://www.prayer-and-prayers.info/christmas-prayers/a-christmas-creed.htm)

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.