Choosing to worship

DAILY BYTE

What kind of festive season do you want to have this year?

That’s the question I want us to think about this week as we consider both the delights and the difficulties of Christmas that await us. Yesterday I suggested that the answer to this question is not merely a matter a chance. Of course, there are many things that can happen to us over which we have little or no control - things that can have dramatic consequences for our lives. (Think, for instance, about those families who will have to face the devastating trauma of losing loved ones in accidents on our nation’s roads this month.)

Yet, in spite of the many unforeseen things that can happen to us, I would still affirm that the kind of festive season we will experience is essentially a matter of choice, not chance.

The story in Matthew 2 of the Magi coming to Bethlehem to worship the Christ-child, guided by a star, is one of the iconic stories of the Christmas narrative. But embedded within this strange but wonderful story is a clear presentation of the fundamental choice that confronts all of us, as we come closer to Christmas.

On the one hand there is the choice of the Magi, who came to Bethlehem in order to WORSHIP the new-born king. On the other hand there is the choice of King Herod. He claimed that he too wanted to go and worship, but in fact he wanted to kill the child. He “came to Bethlehem” in order to serve his own interests, to preserve his own position, to affirm his continued authority as king.

This reflects the choice that confronts all of us as we “come to Bethlehem” this year. Either, like the Magi, we can acknowledge Christ as King, and kneel in worship before him. Or, like Herod, we can seek to serve our own self-centered interests as we continue occupying the throne of our lives.

It seems pretty obvious which option we should choose. And no prizes for guessing what I, a preacher, am going to suggest. But before we rush to that conclusion, let’s be clear about one thing: If we choose to make the worship of Christ our primary concern this Christmas, there are some serious implications to that.

The decision of the Magi to worship Christ is really an act of political defiance, and a form of counter-cultural protest. Think about it. The Magi walk into Jerusalem, the capital of Herod, the king. And they say, “We have come to worship another king. Not you Herod. We’re not going to bow down to you. There’s another king who we think is greater than you. He’s the one we have come to worship.”

And we read that when King Herod heard this, he and all Jerusalem with him were disturbed. They were disturbed because suddenly their entire system was under serious threat. The entire basis for the ordering of their society was being challenged.

That’s what authentic worship does. It challenges the way things are, and the assumptions of the dominant systems of this world. Authentic worship is an act of defiance that dares to declare that our ultimate allegiance is not to any worldly authority but to Christ alone.

Are you up for that this Christmas? Because that’s what it means to worship Christ as King. And should you make that your choice, I guarantee that it will radically change the kind of festive season you will experience.

Over the next three days we’ll explore some practical ways in which this kind of worship can be expressed this Christmas. They are really just starting suggestions, which hopefully will spark some thoughts of your own as to how you might journey through the festive season more faithfully this year.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord Jesus Christ, let my whole-hearted worship of you be my primary concern this Christmas. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 2:1-3

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 in the east and have come to worship him."
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.