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 saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
…And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
…And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Matt. 2:1-2, 8, 11
The uncertainties and confusions that surround us on all sides do not grow any less, but increase to ominous proportions, and our Christmas celebrations will be set against the harsh backcloth of escalating war in India and Pakistan, hatred and bitterness in the mounting tension of the Middle East, the continuing terror in Ulster and, at home, the dark spectre of unemployment, industrial unrest and protest marches. What has the message of Christmas to say in this context?
William Temple, the late Archbishop of Canterbury, once said: ‘This world can be saved from political chaos and collapse by one thing only, and that is worship’, and went on to define what he meant:
‘To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.’
One does not have to think very long or very hard to realize what a revolution would take place in our national life if it were really touched by such a spirit. And how to touch it, except by the presence of a worshipping people within the nation, bearing witness to a new way amidst all the cynicism and disillusionment of our society today?
Let us worship then, this Christmas time, and let all our worship be an act of witness to all who see us coming together at the festive season.
Let us take time to allow the mystery and wonder of the birth of Christ to grip our hearts afresh until conscience, mind, imagination, heart and will are transformed by His grace and made instruments of His will and purpose among men. 'Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh….' (1 Timothy 3:16) - this is where we begin, not merely in the story of Bethlehem, but in its theology; to meditate here, and think this through, will make us fall on our knees in lowly adoration and worship.