Called To Worship

During this season of the year, whatever it is we value becomes more evident. It may be work success or being the life of the party. It may be getting material things or pleasing others to the point where we put ourselves into financial or emotional debt. It may be the strong desire to be with family and friends or the need to get away from it all and be by ourselves. But the bible tells us that we should value one thing above all else. We were created for and we are called to worship God. In our Lesson this week (Matt. 2:1-2, 7-15), we see conteast between a foolish king Herod who valued worldly status versus wise men who followed the calling to worship the Saviour. May God bless you in this season to follow your calling.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matt. 2:1-2) Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem, not far (6 miles) from Jerusalem where Herod ruled as king. Yet, these wise men were not looking for Herod who had been appointed king by Rome, they were looking for a baby who was born King by divine nature. It was Jesus that they came not just to see, but to worship. We see the tension immediately in the text between power propagated by earthly structures and power of divine authority. And the scriptures point out that wise men came to worship the latter, not the former. The wise still come to worship Him!

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. (Matt 2:7-12) The presence of these wise men looking for the King, ignited a flurry of activity in Jerusalem. Some were excited at the news of the Messiah. But Herod went into action to thwart any potential threat to his throne. Herod secretly called the wise men and instructed them to report back to him after they found the young Child. The clandestine nature of Herod's meeting speaks to his motives being worldly, not worship. The wise men did find Jesus and brought Him gifts to acknowledge His royalty (gold), divinity (frankincense), and death/anointing (myrrh). But having been led to Him by a sign, they are warned through a dream not to go back to Herod. Instead, they were to go back home another way. True worship of the Lord, requires that we bring our gifts to Him to use for His kingdom. And having truly worshipped Him, we should experience transformation and we should not leave Him the same as when we came.

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” (Matt. 2:13-15). Like the wise men, Joseph was also instructed in a dream. He was told to take his family and flee to Egypt to thwart Herod's plans to find and kill Jesus. Joseph arose from the dream and immediately obeyed the instructions he was given from the Lord. The text also points out that this act fulfilled yet another prophecy regarding the Messiah. God speaks to us through a variety of means (dreams, signs, His word, angels/others), and it is through obedience to His leading that we avoid the snares designed by the enemy to destroy our lives.

During this time of year, we are bombarded with so many messages about what's important in this season. But for us, the importance of the season is that we celebrate the birth of our Saviour. And we are reminded that God has called us to worship Him, to bring Him our gifts to use for His purposes and to be obedient to go where He sends us. For our part, we must decide whether we will follow the world's calling into mess or follow God's calling to the Messiah. Only one path leads to salvation and new life...And that is why we worship Him!