Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 2:1–12

Have you ever caught yourself about to genuflect before taking your seat at the movie theatre? I have. Fifty-plus years of genuflecting at Mass has ingrained this action into my brain so much that it happens mindlessly when I see a row of seats. 

It is good to genuflect. The mindless part, however, is not a good thing.

Why do Catholics genuflect? “A genuflection, made by bending the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and therefore it is reserved for the Most Blessed Sacrament.”[1] This means that when we make this gesture, it is always and only toward God, in the tabernacle, and never toward a person or material goods. It is a sign of reverence and adoration in the presence of God, of whom we are very much aware.

But are we?

When we enter the house of the Lord and bend our right knee, are we aware of Who we kneel before and why, or are we going through the motions, doing what we do before we take our seat? The words of Saint Basil the Great are a sobering wake-up call to our sleepy religious habits: “Every time we fall upon our knees and rise from off them we show by the very deed that by our sin we fell down to earth, and by the loving kindness of our Creator were called back to heaven.”[2] 

On this Epiphany Sunday, we read about the wise men who, guided by the star, seek to find Jesus. It’s the familiar story of Herod’s hatred for the newborn King and the wise men's search for Him, carrying gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh. But I don’t want to talk about Herod, the star, or the gifts; I’d prefer to talk about how they worshipped. They fell to their knees. 

Do you think about the way you worship?

To worship God is to show Him reverence or honor through our posture of prayer. We can bow to show respect, raise our hands to praise, and kneel to show humility. Think of worship as an exterior expression of an interior attitude. Like a standing ovation at the end of a play, something interiorly is happening; your heart is stirred, quite possibly changed, and the only thing that makes sense is to express what’s inside by moving your body. It was like that with the wise men, only they didn’t stand tall—they fell small.

When the wise men entered Mary's home and saw her with the child Jesus, it was clear from their exterior posture that they were in the presence of someone extraordinary. We know this because, in ancient times, kneeling was a common act of respect and homage to a ruler. The wise men were truly wise, for they recognized Jesus as more than a human baby—He was the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the One the world had been waiting for. 

How else does one respond to the presence of God but fall to their knees? 

In total transparency, I had poor posture for most of my life. I entered the house of the Lord the way I’d enter a coffee shop: casually, expecting to get something out of my visit, looking forward to seeing a friend or two. It wasn't about what I had to offer God but what He had to offer me. Thanks be to God for Walking with Purpose Bible studies, especially Touching the Divine, which drew me deeper into a relationship with Jesus and opened my eyes to the undeserved gift of our faith. The more I studied the Gospel of John, not merely learning about Jesus but encountering Him personally, the greater my love for Him grew. It wasn’t long before my exterior posture was the fruit of an interior devotion—when worship became less about me and all about God.

How do you know when your worship goes from mindless habit to giving to Him all you have? I’ll tell you how: You don’t care how you look to others—you don’t worry that if you kneel to receive the Eucharist, people will think you are trying to act “holier than thou.” You don’t consider what others might say when you are inspired to raise your hands high in praise, lie prostrate before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, slowly genuflect anytime you pass by the tabernacle, or veil in the presence of God. You worship the way that you do because, quite simply, it’s what you must do. 

“We must give glory to God, glorify Him: that is the purpose of creation,” writes Bishop Schneider. He continues: “God did not create us to increase His essential glory because He does not need it. God created us to praise Him, and He inscribed in creation itself the need and yearning to express His glory. Adoration in Greek, is proskynesis, which literally means ‘to prostrate oneself.’ It indicated that One alone is great and that we make ourselves small. Making ourselves small is the fruit of adoration.”[3]

And that’s it right there, isn't it? We should make ourselves small and have the self-awareness to know we are weak and utterly dependent on the One to whom we bend our knees. The world doesn’t encourage this—it tempts us to be the boss, self reliant, our own god. What began in the garden continues today, and I can’t be the only one who looks around and thinks this isn’t working. And it's not working because we weren’t created to adore ourselves; we were created to adore God. “It is not that He wants to be adored, but that it is good for His creatures to adore Him.”[4]

Do you want to do what is good for you? If so, improve your posture. Bow your head, raise your hands, and fall on your knees. If it was good for the wise men, it is good for you, too.

Food for thought or journaling…

What does my exterior posture say about my interior attitude? The wise men sought Jesus before they adored Him. How do you seek Jesus? 

Almighty God, draw us near and bring us to our knees. Teach us to worship You—not with our lips and rote prayers—but with our whole body, hearts, and everything we have (Isaiah 29:13). Amen.

P.S. The best way to seek Jesus is through daily prayer and Scripture study. My two favorite go-tos? Praying from the Heart: Guided Prayer Journal and our Bible study, Touching the Divine. Incorporate these into your daily plan, and you will be brought to your knees!

[1] Philip Kosloski, “When should Catholics genuflect in a church?” Aleteia, (April 24, 2018), https://aleteia.org/2018/04/24/when-should-catholics-genuflect-in-a-church.
[2] Bishop Athanasius Schneider, The Catholic Mass: Steps to Restore the Centrality of God in the Liturgy, (Sophia Institute Press, 2021), 27,28.
[3] Ibid, 31.
[4] Ibid, 31.