Worship

And bowing down the Christmas cactus worshipped Him.  This very large cactus set these buds about three or four weeks ago.  But they don't seem to want to open.  The plant is in the sunniest window of the house, south facing.  By now I would have expected the buds to open or fall off.
I displayed a white Christ Child, Mary, and Joseph beneath it.  Even if the plant refuses to open up, at least it is bowing down over Jesus.
When I used Matthew 2: 1-12 for prayer last Sunday, my mind, or maybe my heart, became lost in  the Magi's attitude before the baby.  I was surprised since there are so many wondrous elements in this fabulous story.  I found myself with these foreign stargazers bowing down, worshipping the Divine Child.  God in the flesh of a baby.  In chapter 1 Matthew had already identified the child as Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
It seems that the Greek verb that Matthew uses means more than bowed.  I've seen it translated knelt, prostrated, lay face down.  Before I pray in the morning I do some exercises.  I start by lying face down on the floor.  Each morning this week as I did that I prayed "And falling down they worshipped him." 
I've tried during the week to analyze what I experienced last Sunday as I was caught up -- or brought down -- into the Magi's worship.  The best I can say is that I was feeling far below the God-Child, so much less than this Baby who is the Holy One.