PERSPECTIVE
By: P. Douglas Small
T
here are probably few images more evocative
than the manger – that of the shepherds
and the Wise Men kneeling before the babe,
Christ Jesus. We know that it is unlikely that the
two groups were there at the same time, and also,
the Biblical record doesn’t include the angels that we
place around the primitive scene, but we sense that
in that moment kings and common men, indeed,
heaven and earth were drawn together. It is a kind
of cosmic, but simple image. God has come – in
innocence. And men, yes, and angels, even the stars,
have declared his coming.
We are drawn to this image. The manger scene
never grows old. We buy them and place them on
our mantles, in our yards – large and small ones. It
is the story of hope. Of God, who has come to earth.
Of the possibility of peace. Children and seniors are
both moved by it. The poor and the powerful.
All of us want to kneel around the manger – to
touch the child. To hold the hope. To sing with the
angels. To believe, that with this child, the world
will be a better place. Psalm 95:6 issues the call, “Oh
come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel
before the Lord our Maker.” This is the call of heaven
to the entire earth – to kneel, to bow down, and to
receive the blessing from our Creator and Redeemer.
Bowing, kneeling is a sacred matter.
There are cameo moments in Scripture where
some godly man knelt and history pivoted. Abraham,
on seeing the three angels, one of them, the Angel of
Yahweh, “… ran from the tent door to meet them,
and bowed himself to the ground” (Gen. 18:2). This
was a life-changing moment for him and arguably,
for the world – the barrenness was broken. Sarah
would now have the long-awaited child, ‘Laughter,’
known to us as Isaac.
Men have, throughout history, bowed before
the throne of God. In the incarnation, God came to
earth, and men bowed before him (Jesus) – and out
of him flowed blessing.
The etymological root of the word bless in the
Old Testament is – to kneel! The implications of the
idea are explosive. To kneel is to position oneself for
blessing from God. It is a declaration of dependence.
It is an act of humility. It is the tranquility of stillness
– how can we move about on our knees? It is the
lowering of self. It is coming beneath the