“They prostrated themselves and did him homage”
“Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for king, myrrh for one who is to die. So the Gentiles, who were the last, become the first: the faith of the Magi is the first fruits of the belief of the Gentiles.” [1]
God became man, because God “wills everyone to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth” [2]. “He will gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples; he will transform the first creation, and God will dwell there with men in peace.” [3] The wise men are the first of the Gentiles that God gathers to “worship in spirit and truth” [4]
What is the Truth that we worship? The truth that we worship is solely in the worship of Jesus Christ. We cannot worship an idea, a thought, or ourselves. We can only worship God who was made manifested in Jesus Christ in the second person of the Trinity.
How are we able to worship in Truth? We can worship in truth because, “the people of the Gentiles, who sat in darkness, have seen a great light, and for those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death a light has dawn.” [5] In the Canticle of Zechariah, which is prayed each morning by the Church in the Liturgy of the Hours, Zechariah makes reference to his son St. John the Baptist and Jesus when he quotes the prophet Isaiah. “And you my child [St. John the Baptist] will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” [6] Jesus is the sun, that at the break of dawn, dispels are shadows and darkness, falsehood and half-truths, thus enabling all people to see the truth and therefore worship in Truth.
If Jesus Christ, the dawn, has already risen, how can people still sit in darkness? Modern society is accustomed to believing that truth is relative. This means that whatever a person believes to be true is truth. According to this false precept, there cannot be “worship in Truth” in an objective, absolute manner, but rather there can only be a “worship of truths” that are subjective. Since “truth” comes from what each individual believes, therefore the worship in reality is, worship of self. If everyone has their own “truth” then each person is enlightened and feels as if they are not “sitting in darkness” or “shadow of death” but rather are basking in the light. In fact with this line of thought, there is no “darkness” or “shadow of death”. Truth is, however absolute and objective. Therefore, there is an absolute and objective light, Jesus and there is also the absence of that light which is “darkness” or “shadow of death”.
Are all religions equal and true? No. There is a falsehood that all religions are equal and true. The Catholic Church does not recognize other religions as equal. All religions are not equal. The Church recognizes that other religions can search for God. This search can be noble, good, and true and although the search might be among shadows and images, if brought to its completion, those searching, who sat in darkness will see a great light, the light of Christ. “The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown, yet near, since he gives life and breath in all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as ‘a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men, that they may at length have life.” [7]
The Church sees the “goodness and truth” found in these religions as a partial truth, which should then lead to the fullness of truth. Many times the partial truths, whether they are taught by religions or held by the individual, are considered to be the full truth in their eyes.
STORY - The Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant
A number of disciples went to the Buddha and said, "Sir, there are living here in Savatthi many wandering hermits and scholars who indulge in constant dispute, some saying that the world is infinite and eternal and others, that it is finite and not eternal, some saying that the soul dies with the body and others that it lives on forever, and so forth. What, Sir, would you say concerning them?"
The Buddha answered, "Once upon a time there was a certain raja who called to his servant and said, 'Come, good fellow, go and gather together in one place all the men of Savatthi who were born blind... and show them an elephant.' 'Very good, sire,' replied the servant, and he did as he was told. He said to the blind men assembled there, 'Here is an elephant,' and to one man he presented the head of the elephant, to another its ears, to another a tusk, to another the trunk, the foot, back, tail, and tuft of the tail, saying to each one that that was the elephant.
"When the blind men had felt the elephant, the raja went to each of them and said to each, 'Well, blind man, have you seen the elephant? Tell me, what sort of thing is an elephant?'
"Thereupon the men who were presented with the head answered, 'Sire, an elephant is like a pot.' And the men who had observed the ear replied, 'An elephant is like a winnowing basket.' Those who had been presented with a tusk said it was a ploughshare. Those who knew only the trunk said it was a plough; others said the body was a grainery; the foot, a pillar; the back, a mortar; the tail, a pestle, the tuft of the tail, a brush.
"Then they began to quarrel, shouting, 'Yes it is!' 'No, it is not!' 'An elephant is not that!' 'Yes, it's like that!' and so on, till they came to blows over the matter.
"Brethren, the raja was delighted with the scene.
"Just so are these preachers and scholars holding various views blind and unseeing.... In their ignorance they are by nature quarrelsome, wrangling, and disputatious, each maintaining reality is thus and thus."
Then the Exalted One rendered this meaning by uttering this verse of uplift
O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
For preacher and monk the honored name!
For, quarreling, each to his view they cling.
Such folk see only one side of a thing.
How does this parable relate to other religions? In the Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant each person grasps onto a “part” of the elephant, they believe their “part” to be the full truth of what an Elephant is and thus the blind men bicker, disagree, and fight. In reality the blind men can only know the truth (the elephant) if they see the sum of all its parts – the fullness. In other religions they may have a piece of God, but they are blinded by the truth, Jesus Christ.
Search: Fullness of Truth - Part II
To worship in truth is to worship the whole Christ. We don’t worship a part of Christ, an anti-Christ, or our self; we worship Jesus Christ of the Gospels, who claimed that He was the way, the truth, and the life. He claimed that He was God. All His claims proved to be true, when He rose from the dead.
How does truth and freedom relate? “Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, ‘If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [8] Relativism and mistaking partial truth for the whole truth leads to enslavement. Jesus Christ, the truth has set us free. The freedom Christ gives has never and cannot be given by temporal kings, governments, and power. Let us recognize in Christ was the Magi recognized. Jesus is the Sovereign Lord, sung about in today’s Introit and prophesized in First Chronicles and Malachi. Kingship, government, and power are in His holy hands.
[1] Saint Peter Chrysologus
[2] 1 Timothy 2:4
[3] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 715
[4] John 4:24
[5] Isaiah 9:1
[6] Luke 1:76-79
[7] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 843
[8] John 8:31-32