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Pope urges Christians to worship God not themselves

Pope Francis has called on Christians to worship God and not themselves. Speaking during celebration of Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, the Holy Father said the life of the Christian must be a symbol of worship.

Reflecting on the gospel reading taken from Matthew chapter 2:1-12, He said the goal of the journey undertook by the magi was to worship.  Indeed, when they arrived in Bethlehem, “they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him” (v. 11).

Once we lose the sense of worship, we lose our direction in the Christian life, which is a journey towards the Lord, not towards ourselves. Said Pope Francis.

In trough more light on his reflection, Pope Francis said, the fact is that Herod worshipped only himself; that is why he wanted to rid himself of the child through a lie.  What does this teach us?  That when we do not worship God, we end up worshipping ourselves.  So too, the Christian life, when it fails to worship the Lord, can become a discreet way of affirming ourselves and our own abilities:

It is a grave risk when we use God instead of serving him.  How many times have we confused the interests of the Gospel with our own?  How many times have we cloaked in religiosity the things we find convenient?  How many times have we confused God’s power, which is for serving others, with the power of this world, which is for serving ourselves. He asked the congregation.

This is what the Church ought to be, a worshipper in love with Jesus her spouse. As we begin the New Year, may we discover anew that faith demands worship.  If we can fall on our knees before Jesus, we will overcome the temptation to set off on our own path.

 He explained that for worship involves making an exodus from the greatest form of bondage, slavery to oneself.  Worship means putting the Lord at the centre, not ourselves.

“Am I a Christian who worships?” asked Pope Francis, many Christians pray but they do not worship.  Let us ask ourselves this question:  Do we find time for worship in our daily schedules and do we make room for worship in our communities?

 It is up to us, as a Church, to put into practice the words we prayed in today’s Psalm: “All the peoples on earth will worship you, O Lord”.  In worshipping, we too will discover, like the Magi, the meaning of our journey.  And like the Magi, we too will experience “a great joy” (Mt 2:10).

Source: Augustus Aikins // Radio Angelus

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