"Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices. Oh night divine..." You know the Christmas hymn, don't you? "O Holy Night" was written in 1847 and was quite possibly the first song ever played on the radio. On Christmas Eve, 1906, Reginald Fessenden broadcast the first AM radio program which included him playing "O Holy Night" on the violin.
The lyrics are powerful. Yet, I wonder if anyone other than the person being shoved to the ground at a shopping mall ever falls to his or her knees any more at Christmas.
Falling on your knees is not a glamorous thing to do. The knee itself isn't much to look at. It's just a knobby saucer of bone designed to... Hmmm.
What great purpose DOES the knee serve? Obviously, it's a great source of humor when someone is shivering and you can see their knees quivering. Sure, it comes in handy when you sit at that part of the table where the table legs jut out and you scoot your chair up without realizing it. And I can attest to the importance of the knee when your brother's baseball bat "accidentally" (let's all roll our eyes in unison) slips out of his hands.
But seriously -- why is there a round bone floating around in there at that particular location? Does it serve any great purpose other than to make embarrassing popping noises?
The knee isn't given much respect in our anthropomorphic colloquialisms either. You'll never hear someone say, "Now, there's a man who can stand on his own two knees." No one ever shouts, "Let's give her a knee!" Noooo. The foot and the hand get the glory. What does the knee get?
The knee gets humility. If a football player "takes a knee," it means he would rather surrender than run with the ball. When a man is looking for forgiveness after saying or doing something really stupid and is in jeopardy of wearing (instead of eating) his dinner, he drops to his knees to beg forgiveness. The beggar pleads for help from his knees. The maid scrubs the floor while on her knees. All humiliating tasks for those calcified cups.
Oh, but the knee does enjoy a few moments in the spotlight. After scoring a touchdown, the football player drops to his knee to give thanks. The young man in love causes the woman he loves to gasp when he falls to his knee to propose marriage.
But the most powerful moment for our knees is when we fall on our knees to worship and adore Almighty God. In God's kingdom, the way up is down. Before you can ever rise in strength, you must kneel in weakness.
Jesus came humbly. He chose the horse trough over the Hilton. Christ IS Christmas. He is the Savior born to bring the hope of new life to all who will come to Him. So, somewhere at some point, would you clear out a moment to fall on your knees, listen again to those angel voices, and remember that night divine?
Obviously, some are not physically able to get on their knees. That's okay. It is the heart that makes the difference in prayer and worship, not the knees. The point is --- simply discover the power of a humble moment before God.
"'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth..."
Jesus is all I Kneed,
perry crisp
1 comment:
Often times I truly miss the ability to bow down on my knees at the altar and pray. I pray anyway, of course, but there is something about the physical act of bodily abasing one's self before Holy God. I'm sure glad He knows my heart and looks past my knees.
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