Let us observe the meaning of giving homage to God
By Msgr. John Wynand Katende
Posted on Saturday, 3rd January 2026
The Biblical story of the Three Kings from the East, who encountered the Christ-child, led by a star, is at the core of our faith in God, namely paying Him homage (Matthew 2:1-12). In the Bible, the word "homage" means special respect or reverence that is shown to a member of royalty, a king, or a great leader. When one renders homage to another, one enters into sub-mission or a commitment to engage in the purpose and mission of the other.
Homage was the reason and purpose of the quest of the Magi. To make their contract real and binding, they bring their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold symbolizes worldly power, incense symbolizes the mystery of God, and myrrh symbolizes the one thing we all share in common and which the Christ-child would profoundly share with us, death. In essence, the Magi, lead Gentile people to the Savior of all of the world. With them and through them the whole world gives Him homage.
King Herod does not pay homage to the Christ-child. He worships a pagan god called Power. Tragically, those who worship power, end up not possessing power but rather being possessed by it. They are doomed to lie, cheat, corrupt and kill in order to have it or retain it. To appease his god, Herod murders all the male babies under two years of age throughout the district surrounding Bethlehem. “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton-1887). It means that total power removes accountability, allowing corruption to flourish unchecked.
Power worship is devil worship. In Matthew 4:5-11, Satan said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.” Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! The Scriptures say, 'You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him! '” So the devil left him. On encountering Jesus, after His resurrection, Mary Magdalene and the other disciples did homage to their Master.
Homage, honor, devotion, worship, respect and dedication are all values that seem to be rapidly disappearing from our modern world. Today we tend to observe only self enhancement, individual rights, self-affirmation, and self-esteem as essential, all else being merely optional.
Today, many people go to Mass, to get, not to give homage to God. They complain that the Mass is boring or that they don’t get anything out of it. The Mass is about God not about us. It is not about what we do, but about what God does in us and for us. The Church stresses the Eucharist/Mass is the source and summit of Christian faith. The Three Kings did not go to Bethlehem to be entertained but to worship, to give honor, reverence, worship and homage, along with all others.
We need to recover our own sense of giving homage and worship to the One who alone can save the world in which we live; Jesus Christ. By paying Him homage, the Magi joined in His mission, and so should we. The word “Mass” comes from the Latin word, missa meaning “mission” or “sending” because the liturgy is to send forth the faithful to bring forth the Good News of Jesus and to be His sacramental presence in the world.
During Mass Jesus gives Himself to us in His word and His very own Body and His very own Blood. We are called upon to give Him gifts, far more precious and superior than gold, frankincense and myrrh. We give our very selves, our love and devotion, our reverence and our respect, our worship, and our homage, to the King of all earthly kings.
At a national level, we are duty-bound to exercise our political rights to elect a new president and members of parliament, by putting God and national interests over and above personal ones. We need to elect candidates who embrace servant leadership and will be true to the national motto: “For God and my country”. Let us earnestly pray for the Electoral Commission and security organs to act justly and impartially; focusing on the common good. We pray for peaceful, free, and fair elections. It involves political freedoms and fair processes leading up to the vote, a fair count of eligible voters who cast a ballot.
Oh, come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.
In giving homage to God, we are all winners