The wait for Advent is over. The moment is here when the promised Savior of the world arrives, a precious gift delivered from the womb of a virgin in the form of a baby boy. And in light of this long-awaited gift, there is nothing to do but worship and celebrate.
Worship is a posture of the heart. We may “fall on our knees” as the shepherds did in their field that night under the light of a glory-filled angelic army in the night sky. We may offer our most precious gifts and bow before the Christ child as the Wisemen did. Or we may simply humble our hearts as Mary did when she first agreed to this miracle and replied, “Let it be to me as you have said…” The act of worship orients body, mind, and spirit to the King of kings. Here, we release our own agendas, strong opinions, and judgments. Today we lay it all down and come with empty hands raised open-palmed to the Divine invitations to come and worship.
In worship, we recognize the attributes of the One we worship. In Jesus, we worship his sovereignty that overcomes the world, not with power or might or violence, but with peace, humility, and outrageous grace.
We worship because his name is Wonderful – full of wonder that leaves us awestruck. That God would choose to deliver Love to the world as a baby in a lowly manger is a wonder. That this baby would one day perform more miraculous signs than the world has ever seen is a wonder. That, in the end, he would willfully make his death bed by laying himself down to be nailed to a cross, to die that we might live, is a wonder. And that he would ultimately conquer death and the grave in a dazzling daybreak resurrection… Yes, his name is Wonderful.
We worship the great Counselor – He teaches us through deeply divine wisdom that often leaves us speechless, that challenges our ideas of right and wrong, and what it means to do justice and walk humbly with our God at the same time. In an era where the world proclaims they work justice through power plays and demands to be recognized as superior and deserving of particular rights, Jesus simply, quietly loves his enemies and forgives those who have caused him harm. The only one who could rightfully claim power and authority over all shows us how to lay it all down in a grand gesture of life-giving love. This is the One we worship.
We worship the Prince of Peace – What if we all claimed and spoke this name of Jesus, if we all worked for peace rather than power, if we all chose to forego retaliation and retribution, and released our long-held resentments, and clothed ourselves in humility, if we swaddled ourselves in the bands of love, oh, what a world we might see. What a people we might become.
Christmas Day is at hand. There’s nothing more to do than to celebrate and worship. Today, and every day of the year, “O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.”.
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