The True Object of Worship

9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh – Matt. 2:9-11 NIV

I read this passage last night and just had to comment on it. The story is about the Magi who were in search of Jesus by following a star that God had provided. At this time, Joseph had taken his family from a stable to a house where they lived until God instructed them to move elsewhere.

The passage above states that at this time, while in the house, “the Child was with His mother, Mary.” The Magi heard Herod’s lies about how he wanted to worship the Child and went on their way following God rather than the wicked king.

Now here is the part this refreshed me: Jesus is with His mother, Mary, right? So when the Magi enter Joseph’s home and see Jesus with His mother, Mary, what did they do?

1. They rejoiced (v. 10).
2. They assumed the posture of submission – “they bowed down”
3. They worshiped Jesus
4. They offered their gifts

So what is so significant about this? Mary, the mother of Jesus was not at all the object of their worship. Remember, the Child is with Mary His mother. But the Magi knew enough to know who to venerate. They knew enough that of the two – Jesus and Mary, Jesus was to be the object of their worship and not Mary.

Now I am not interested in doing a Catholic bashing, but this needs to be pointed out. What is all this “Hail Mary” sort of thing anyway, where a typical Catholic takes out his or her prayer beads and prays to the virgin Mary?

The commonly held teachings of Mariology can be derived from her function as Mother of God (Theotokos), a term first used around 320 and formally approved by the Council of Ephesus in 431. Mary worshipers argue that Mary, who enabled God the Savior to be born, has a position more exalted than any other creature. She is the Queen of Heaven. She is often pictured in heaven giving advice to her Son!

Moreover, since her motherhood was indispensable to God’s redemptive activity, Mary is essential to the final, spiritual perfection of every creature. Although Mary was not involved in the original physical creation, Mary is, in this ultimate sense, the Mother of God’s Creatures. This includes being Mother of Humans, a title found in Ambrose but popularized around 1100, and Mother of Angels, a term first found in the thirteenth century.

Mariolatry is still widely practiced and growing stronger. The leaders of the Catholic Church are doing a grave disservice to scores of their parishioners by venerating Mary over the sinless Son of God.

The Magi, the so-called wise men from the east and experts in the study of stars knew better in focusing own worship on the correct object.

Again, while together in the same room – both Jesus and Mary, the Magi bowed down and worship Jesus only presenting Him with their gifts and Mary was not even in the picture. Can it be more clearer than that? The worship of Mary is what happens when people believe that the bible is not enough in terms of giving us adequate information, but we also need to rely on church tradition and church authority – i.e. so-called wise men.

For us Christians, worship is always about Jesus – nothing less. Jesus is the focus and sole object of our worship. We believe Mary to be a good woman, a chosen vessel by God the Father to bring His Son into the world, a sinner like the rest of us (cf. Luke 1:46-47); and who ceased to be a virgin after Jesus had been born (Matt. 1:25).

For us Christians, we know who to worship. And we also know that worshiping Jesus is a matter of the heart. Below is a very insightful story contributed by Bill Hall that I want to pass along.

For years I have seen and heard about the division in churches over "correct" and "incorrect" forms of worship. I have seen it all from "you shouldn't smile in church because you should fear the Lord" to the Ringling Brothers Circus service. Each group seems to think the other has missed the mark and are often very uncomfortable worshipping together.

In the midst of one church crisis concerning this issue, I prayed, "Father, how should we worship You?" He answered using my own children to make the point.

The kids had been away at Grandma's house for a few days, and I missed them terribly. On my way home from work, all I could think about was seeing them. As soon as the front door slammed behind me I heard the sound I had longed for. The sound of small feet on the wood floor—my children were coming to greet me.

The first to arrive was Alex—my soon-to-be four year old. He was running and jumping and yelling, "Daddy's home, daddy's home!" He ran to me with arms open and hugged my legs as hard as he could. I bent down and told him how much I loved him and had missed him. He gave me a kiss and was off to other adventures.

Following closely was Anthony, my seventeen-month old. He filled the house with a steady "Dada, dada, dada, dada." As he neared, he looked up at me and raised his hands as high as they would go as a sign for me to pick him up. When I did he took my face in his hands and looked deeply into my eyes for a moment, then patted my face and kissed me like only a toddler can. The squirming that followed was his signal that our special moment was over, and in a flash he was gone.

Austin, my five-year-old, was not to be found in this parade, so I conducted an immediate search of the house. Alone in his room he sat, tears rolling down his cheeks. He had done something he knew was wrong and was fearing the worst upon my arrival. As he talked about what he had done, he began to cry uncontrollably, saying, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry." I felt as if I couldn't pick him up fast enough. I hugged and kissed him repeatedly and told him that I forgave him and would always love him no matter what. In no time we were playing and laughing as usual.

Each child's response to my presence was correct considering their circumstance. It was honest and from the heart.

How should we worship in church? The answer will most likely change from week to week but can always be found by assessing the condition of our hearts and focusing on the true object of our worship – Jesus, the Lamb of God.