A very breif sermon for an evening service filled with readings and hymns.
Holy Epiphany (Observed) Take a Bow Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In tonight’s Gospel, the wise men “saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him.” Dear Christian friends, Bowing is a sign of servitude. Bowing is how someone of a low position would act in the presence of someone in a high position. We Christians often bow when approaching the Holy Communion. We do not bow because we must. We bow on account of the respect and honor we hold for our God’s presence in our midst. I also bow to you in our worship. I do not bow as a theater performer, seeking applause or praise. I bow to you in my office of the lower position, as your shepherd (1 Peter 5:2) and steward (1 Corinthians 4:1) and slave (2 Timothy 2:24). “Going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him.” The wise men did not bow sweepingly, as if they were actors feigning humility on stage. The wise men did not straighten to attention and smartly nod their heads in an effort to keep some personal dignity. The wise men dropped onto their palms and their bellies and their knees. They faced the floor in the presence of their King. In so bowing before the Child, the wise men abandoned their dignity, their honor, their intellect, their position, their kingdoms and their thrones. They made claim to nothing. They placed themselves in the presence their Lord as men of low position and servitude. These men have chosen a good Man to bow before. The wise men do for the Child Jesus what the Child Jesus has already done for them. What has Jesus done? Our dear Lord Jesus made Himself a servant in order that we may be elevated to the position of lord. Seated there in the house, Jesus had already abandoned His divine dignity, honor, knowledge, position, kingdom and throne. “They fell down and worshiped Him” but our Lord has already bowed Himself before them—before you and before me. Jesus does not bow because He must. He bows so that He may be God in our midst. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
