Know what and who you worship. That is such a problem in our world today. We have become entrenched creatures of the flesh. Today’s reading for most of us surround the Epiphany of the Lord.
Scripture says:
John the Evangelist states that when Jesus came into the world the world knew him not and his own people received him not (John 1:10-11).
When the three magi searched out Jesus, they knew they were coming to worship a king. These men were not Israelites, but foreigners. They likely had read and discussed the Messianic prophecies and were anxious to see when this Messianic King would appear. God led them by means of an extraordinary star across the desert to the little town of Bethlehem where Jesus was born.
Think of that for a moment.
In their thirst for knowledge of God, the wise men from the East willingly left everything, their home and country, in pursuit of that quest. In their diligent search they were led to the source of true knowledge – to Jesus Christ, the Light and Wisdom of God. When they found the newborn King they humbly worshiped him and gave him gifts fitting for a king.
Most of us do not have to travel very far, and we have no gifts of myrrh, gold or frankincense.
We do have the world we live in. We have our jobs, churches and communities. It is there that we offer our gifts to Jesus. It is by living the great commandments of loving thy neighbor, we offer the best of what we have.
Unfortunately, when we choose to worship, money, fame and worldly items, we leave little to no room to worship Him. Our faith becomes weak and we grow dim in a world of darkness.
Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to us. It is through the help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and opens the eyes of the mind, that we are able to understand, accept, and believe the truth which God has revealed to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. In faith, the human will and intellect cooperate with grace. “Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace” (Thomas Aquinas).
To know and to encounter Jesus Christ is to know God personally. In the encounter of the wise men with Jesus we see the plan of God to give his only Son as King and Savior, not just for the Jewish people but for all the nations as well. The Lord Jesus came that both Jew and Gentile might find true and lasting peace with God.
It is in this that we come to know who we truly should worship.
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