The Gift of Pagan Homage

At yesterday's Mass celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord, our pastor spent part of his homily reflecting on the significance of the biblical Magi, the "three wise men" who came to see the infant Jesus and pay him homage. Though the legend mentions only three "kings," there were likely many foreign dignitaries at the time, traveling in these desert regions in search of some divine figure (an ancient Persian legend claimed that the appearance of a star would predict the birth of a ruler, and the term "Magi" is derived from an old Persian term that refers to a priestly caste within Zoroastrianism). 

At any rate: Father M emphasized that these dignitaries were astrologers and 'pagans' -- that is, non-Jews. And that "they sought as pagans, they gave homage to Jesus as pagans .... and they returned home as pagans." Not as converts to Judaism or Christianity (which, of course, didn't exist yet). In other words: God, or the Light, or (for those who prefer nontheistic terms) the meaning-generative yearning deep in our hearts speaks to us through the languages and contexts in which we've sprouted and bloomed, whether we are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, pantheists, atheists, agnostics, spritual-but-not-religious, or interspiritual ... One of the meanings that emerges out of the story of the Magi is that the primary goal of authentic Christianity (and other "heart" paths) is not to proselytize or convert, but rather to love others through our actions and choices, and to seek and follow the light that guides.