In our Gospel today, Jesus places before us a great challenge, to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, to seek what is seemingly impossible by loving not just those who love us back, but those who might very well hate us. Jesus is telling us to go beyond loving our neighbor and to love our very enemy as well.

What’s more is that it seems that He is telling us that in order to do this, we are, in his words to: “offer no resistance to one who is evil.” And, while it is true that Jesus always encourages the more non-violent approach, these three ways He gives us show a more creative way in which to deal with our enemy.

In fact, He challenges the very popular phrase at the time, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” with the suggestion that we give the other cheek. While, at the outset it may not seem too different, this is actually a gesture of defiance, because in order for one to be hit on the right cheek it would have to be done with the back of the right hand.

In biblical understanding, this was symbolically how a master might strike a slave. Therefore, when Jesus says we are to give the other cheek, the left cheek, this is a symbolic gesture of one being equal with the attacker. This puts the attacker in an awkward position, in trying to strike a second time, and, in fact, is actually a non-violent way of standing one’s ground and of refusing to be further insulted.

The same thing is true when Jesus encourages the handing over of one’s cloak as well as their tunic. In biblical times, the Jewish people wore two principal garments, an interior garment and an exterior. The interior was a tunic, it covered the whole body and extended down to the knees. The second garment was called a "cloak," or a mantle.

It was typically the wealthy who would be able to have a cloak, and, in fact, one’s wealth was judged on how many garments they wore. If a poor person, however, had a cloak, it might be the only one they had, and it was common for them to use them as a bedcovering.

Now, in the Biblical times if a poor person borrowed money they would use those garments as collateral for a loan, and if the person was really poor, they would use their cloak. On cold nights, they would need something to cover themselves with, so there was a requirement that the garment had be returned to the poor person every night for warmth. However, he was also required to return the garment each morning until the loan was paid back.

If these requirements were not met by either the poor person borrowing the money or the one lending the money, there would be a lawsuit.

What Jesus is saying then is that by giving their cloak and their tunic, they are giving everything they own, even the clothes upon their back.

In Israel, shame comes upon the person not who is naked but upon the one viewing the nakedness, so the humiliation then is on the accuser.

Lastly, a Roman soldier was allowed to have a slave carry his pack for only one mile, anything beyond that puts the soldier in violation of military law. Jesus then is putting the burden or the punishment on the soldier not the one who is “going the extra mile.”

In each case, Jesus is showing creative ways in which to not give up our dignity as humans and as Christians, but to non-violently oppose our accuser.

This is the way He is saying we are to respond to our enemy, but He is still asking us to love them.

The question then, is how do we love our enemy? 

The typical response is that while we are obliged to love all, we don’t have to like them. That is, though we are not too fond of the person we wish them no harm or that nothing bad befall them.

And, while that is the general understanding of how it is we are to love our enemy, it still seems to fall short, because our enemy, no matter how much they hate us, is still a human being, our enemy is still one molded and shaped by the hand of God.

That is why Jesus shows us another way, by His example as he laid upon the Cross. Because, from the deepest recesses of His heart, He does not say: “Father, condemn them, let your wrath fall upon them,” or “strike them dead at this very moment,” no, His response is different, He says: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

He takes the very epitome of evil, the worst that humankind is capable of and He asks for forgiveness, He asks for sanctification, He asks that the most evil action become transformed and blessed by the Father.

Jesus then shows us that, indeed, it is possible to love our enemy, when we love the person with God, that the only way to love our enemy is to pray for them, because prayer is the greatest form of love that any of us can offer. It puts us at the heart of bringing those whom we cannot find forgiveness for, those whom we may hate or who, in turn, may hate us, and turns it into good, by blessing it, by blessing us, by blessing them.

Because, no matter the evil that was done, no matter the hate that exists, prayer levels the playing field, placing both our enemy and ourselves before God, placing us in the very presence of Love. So that while we stand in His presence, it becomes merely impossible to not love even our very enemy.

That is what Jesus means when He says we are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, because perfect love can only exist within God Himself, and if we seek to bring ourselves before Him who is Love, standing side by side with our enemy, in the end, we will see it is not just our neighbor whom we are to love but even, and most especially, our enemy as well.

In the Middle East, during the time of Jesus, refined salt, like that in most of our salt shakers, had great value, in fact, it was only the truly wealthy that could own refined salt, so much so, that it came to be known as “white gold” and, it is said, that the Roman soldiers would be paid in salt, which, incidentally, is where the word “salary” comes from.

The rest of the people, however, could only afford a bag of salt which would be full of impurities, and once the salt bag was getting empty, all that was left were the impurities or what were known as “dregs.” So, when the salt went flat, it was no longer good and it would be thrown on the ground and used to dry up mud.

Additionally, salt was used to preserve food, since there were no refrigerators to keep things fresh, and to add a little flavor to a less than palatable meal, since food might have been a little bland at times.

So, when Jesus, in our Gospel, tells us we are to be the salt of the earth, He is saying, that we are called to preserve and to make palatable the Christian message to those who find it less than appetizing, as it were, that we are called to bring the “white gold” of the Word of God to others and to live that Word as if it cost us everything, because it did.

And, when He says we are to be the light of the world, He saying we are to live as a bright light, as torches of Christ in a world that finds the darkness of sin and division more comfortable and more pleasing than Him.

Because, when we come here to receive that Eucharist, whether we realize it or not, we, literally become a lamp stand of Christ, and when we leave this church, we make the decision to allow that lamp to remain for all to see or to put it under a bushel basket, concealed and hidden away.

Yet, as Jesus reminds, our light cannot stop shining, it cannot be dimmed, no matter what we do, no matter what we try, because it is meant for all to see, it is meant to illuminate our lives and to not darken it, it is meant to be passed on from one person to the other, to be that single lit candle in the cold darkness of the night of this world.

In fact, we need only look at the tabernacle, where you will see a single candle burning, a light that not only reminds us that Christ is there, but a light we are to carry within ourselves each and every day, to remind us that He is with us always.

Because, by carrying the light of Christ to others, by living as beacons, as instruments of God’s Will, we come to see that we are the flashlights, as it were, to Christ who is the light, that we, indeed, are the lamp to Christ who is the bulb.

That wherever we go we should and want to make Him known, that wherever we go we should and want to bring the taste of Heaven to others, as it were, or, as a priest once put it: “Those of us worth our salt make others thirsty for Christ.”

Today then, Jesus is placing a challenge before us, to be the best Christians that we can be, to live holiness the best that we can so that our ultimate desire in this life is sainthood.

Because, by doing so, we then become that salt, spreading the message of Christ, far and wide, savored by many and lighting a torch on our way. And, that in the end, we live that challenge that Christ has called all of us to, to truly be the salt of the earth and, indeed, the light of the world.

When Jesus entered our world, everyone was expecting the long-awaited Messiah, a man who would rule with an iron fist, a man who would be both king and warrior, a man who would conquer by the sword and be victorious by his military expertise.

No one expected their Messiah to be compared to an animal that was daily sacrificed on the altar, as it was on the night of Passover, no one was expecting Jesus to be a lamb, they were expecting a lion.

And, while He was not who they expected Him to be, He did become a great king, He did conquer the world, not by military expertise, but by bringing the very Kingdom of God within our midst, He conquered hearts and He did so not by destroying His enemies, but, instead, by giving His life for them and for us.

And, what this means is quite simple, we have been saved, and through Him, as St. Paul says in our second reading, sanctified and called to be holy. So that now, by our very lives, by His sacrifice we become a living sacrifice for Him.

Because, upon that altar He becomes the New Passover, the New Lamb that is sacrificed daily, not as a reminder of freedom from Pharaoh, but as a reminder of our freedom from sin.

That is why when the words “Behold, the Lamb of God” are spoken before we receive Him, they are words that mean more than just “here is Jesus” they mean “behold our Savior, He who has taken away every single sin in our lives and continues to do so, who has given us the opportunity, as a result, to become holy, to become saints, if we so choose to do so.”

Because, upon that altar is Jesus Himself, that same hoped for Messiah, upon that altar is the Eucharist, the same that has conquered more people, more places and more hearts than any king or military leader could hope to conquer. And, He does so by giving Himself to us, He does so by allowing us to participate, to receive Him Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, which, literally then, dwells within us.

As some of you may know, I have had a few major surgeries, which is why one of the greatest consolations I ever received before my third open-heart was to understand the reality of what happens when we receive communion. That Jesus’ body and blood become a part of us, so that His very blood, the same that filled His Sacred Heart, courses through our veins and, the same blood He shed for our salvation, fills our hearts and can, literally, transform our souls.

That is the power that every single one of us receive, that is the power that Jesus has, which is why He never needed to rule with an iron fist, He never needed to conquer by the sword, because, as God, He knew and knows that in order to change the world, He needs first to change us. And, He knows that in order to change us it has to be internal, it has to be, first, reconciliation and then a communion, an intermingling of Him with us, so that we become the embodiment of that mercy and that Eucharist in the world.

If we only knew what was possible, what can happen in the world and to the world, by that Eucharist, by our prayer, by our absolution, we might never want to leave this altar, we might never want to leave this church.

God has a purpose for every single one of us, no matter who we are, or what our state in life is, because, as it reminds in our first reading, we are all called to be a light to the nations, to be little lambs, as it were, who offer ourselves constantly to Him. Therefore, as I hold up that Eucharist in a few moments and repeat those same beautiful words St. John spoke, may we always remember what they truly mean and what they truly entail: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

Traditionally, the time from December 25^th, the Solemnity of Christmas and January 5^th, was seen as the 12 days of Christmas. This is where the tradition of the 12 days of Christmas comes from, as well as Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, because the night of the 5^th marked the 12^th and final night of Christmas. During this time, it was also common to go wassailing.

The word wassail means “good health,” however, it also became a very common drink during the season, to the point that there would be fanfare and singing while serving this hot mulled alcoholic cider. The song became a carol known as “Here we come a-wassailing.”

This fanfare and celebration would also lead to role reversal, whereby a peasant would become king and a king a peasant. If you ever read Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night you know that this is the theme of the play.

All of this would lead up to January 6^th the typical day for the Solemnity of the Epiphany, which also came to be known as the Theophany or Three Kings Day and it was during this time that gifts were usually exchanged in imitation of the Magi bringing gifts to the child Jesus and, some would say, where the tradition of exchanging gifts during Christmas originated.

It was also customary to take down one’s decorations after The Epiphany, though, in the New Church calendar, Epiphany can be between Jan 2^nd – Jan 8^th and Ordinary Time does not begin until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which we will celebrate next Sunday.

Given this, our celebration marks not just the end of Christmas but the beginning of Christ’s manifestation to the world. In fact, the word Epiphany simply means, “to make known,” “to manifest,” “to reveal.”

And, traditionally He revealed Himself to the world in three incredible ways, first by the Magi, then at His Baptism in the Jordan River then at His first miracle at The Wedding Feast of Cana.

Yet, He revealed Himself even more intimately, as a vulnerable child to His family, to the shepherds, and to all of us in the persons of Caspar, Balthasar and Melchior, the Three Kings who embarked upon a long journey to see this king, a trip that many believe was much longer than one night, in fact, some believe that the Magi traveled between 1000-2000 miles. And, in doing so, were forced to leave behind their family and their friends and everyone they knew.

And the gifts they brought showed us who it was they came to adore, because gold was used by kings and was always a sign of royalty, prestige and power. Incense is a gum resin from dried tree sap and is native to Somalia. It was used by Moses to set before the tabernacle as an offering to God and, therefore, was considered to be holy to the Lord, to the point that any profane use, as cited elsewhere in the Book of Numbers, was forbidden. This is why, even today, it is used in churches and why it is seen as a symbol of our prayers rising to Heaven.

Myrrh is a brownish gum resin and native to East Africa and Arabia, it was used to embalm the dead, it was used by Moses to anoint the tabernacle and Nicodemus brought it Jesus to anoint His body after His death. It could also be ingested, which is why it was mixed with wine and offered to Jesus before He died on the cross.

And, with these gifts were three men, three men that were seen, by the early Church Fathers, as representatives of the three ages of man, because, accordingly, Caspar was young and beardless who brought frankincense, Melchior was older, white-haired and bearded, who brought gold and Balthasar was bearded and of African descent and, as it is said, in the prime of his life, who brought myrrh. Of course, many people speculate that there were more than three Magi, however, in Cologne, Germany there is a cathedral that contains the relics of the Magi, which was discovered in Persia by St. Helena, only for them to go from Constantinople to Cologne. It is said, that the trip to Cologne took place on three separate ships, hence the Christmas carol, “I Saw Three Ships.”

Yet, the greatest sign is the Star of Bethlehem. People have speculated it to be anything from a comet, to a supernova, to a conjunction of planets, and while no one but those who were there will know for sure, it is St. Augustine who puts it well, he says: “Christ was not born because the star was there; but the star was there because Christ was born.”
And, these Magi knew this, in fact, they were astrologers, those who would study the Heavens and sought to read signs in the sky and it was believed that there would always be a sign in the sky of a famous birth, like a king or queen.

And, when those Magi came to adore Jesus, they didn’t just kneel, they prostrated themselves before Him, that is, they fell on their faces in humility, in trust and in worship. They knew that that tiny child was someone more than just another child, He was and is God made man, to whom our prayers rise, our King, who wears the crown of thorns adorned with the gold of His blood and our Savior, who though anointed for death became its conqueror.

This is why the miracle wasn’t the star, the angels, the gifts or even the manger, the miracle, indeed, was the child, and they knew that, which is why they stopped at nothing to follow that star, a star that became not just the compass to the Magi, but the very spotlight to our Savior, the light of Christ in the sky, the light in our hearts, the star that we all seek to follow, the one leads us from Bethlehem to Calvary, to this altar today.

Therefore, like those Magi, let us seek Christ always, allowing Him to manifest Himself in our lives, especially in the Most Holy Eucharist we will receive shortly, though hidden behind the blanket of bread, as it were, is the same whom those Magi came to worship. So that we can partake in the greatest epiphany of all, the one that will happen upon that altar, when He will manifest Himself in our bodies and in our souls and dwell, in the end, in the manger of our hearts.

When I was younger, I always felt something different about Christmas, but, especially, Christmas Eve, yet, it wasn’t the anticipation of presents, nor was it the gathering of family, as great as all of that was, it was something else, it was something more. In fact, I remember I would be sitting in the back of the car, coming from or going to one of the grandmother’s houses and on the radio the song “Do you Hear what I Hear?” would be playing and I would think to myself this song perfectly encapsulates this night and, indeed, this entire season.

I remember I would then look up to the sky, and if it wasn’t snowing, raining or overcast, I would see the stars in their radiant beauty and be reminded of the star that led the Magi to Bethlehem. To me, they would embody the feeling of that night, and then, almost inevitably, on the radio “Silent Night” would play and a peace would fill my heart, a peace would fill my soul, and I would feel that peace the entire night, sometimes the entire season.

While, at the time, I had no idea of the rich history behind those carols, that one was written during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and another was sung in 1914, during WWI, resulting in British and German troops calling a cease fire, if only for a night, at the time those songs encapsulated, as they still do, what that night truly means.  

A child was not just born into the world on that night, with accompanying signs, a child was born into the world and, by His birth, transformed that world, so that the world would never be the same again, which is why the world, the entire universe, pauses, it adores that child, as it did the very first time, and it continues do so throughout this entire Christmas season. In fact, St. John Chrysostom, from his own Christmas homily says: “Bethlehem, this day, resembles Heaven,” but truly, everywhere Jesus is adored is Bethlehem, so that just as on that first Christmas, Heaven has come down to earth, so that earth might resemble Heaven, if even for a moment, if even for a day.

This is why what we feel is more than silence, more than peace, it is reverence, it is the universe, literally, bowing again before its Creator, recognizing and instilling within us not just a sense of peace, not just a feeling of charity, but a night and an entire season when we, too, fall upon our knees and hear the angels’ voices as if they are singing again as they did on that first Christmas night.

And, because He changed the world, because the greatest miracle of the world occurred on that night, what to us may have seemed insignificant was, in fact, all a part of God’s plan.

From the very beginning, this is clear. Jesus, was born in the city of David, in a little town called Bethlehem, and He was laid in a manger because there was no room at the Inn.

We hear this so often that it might not mean much, but each of these details are incredibly important. A manger is a feeding trough for animals, and hay was put into that manger not to be his mattress but as food for those animals.  

The town was Bethlehem, a Hebrew word that means “House of Bread,” and David was a king, which means then that Jesus, was born as a king, laid in a feeding trough in a town that is known as the “House of Bread.”

So, from His very first moment on this earth, Jesus wanted to feed us, He was born to feed us, feeding us first with His Word, which we just heard, and then again with the Eucharist, the true bread from Heaven, which we will receive shortly.

Christmas then is more than just the gifts that we receive and the gifts that we give, Christmas is a celebration of that gift that was laid in a manger for us.

And while that gift wasn’t wrapped in fancy paper with a bow, while that gift wasn’t the latest and greatest thing, only to be forgotten the next year, while that gift wasn’t expensive, it costs more than any gift we could buy, because that gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes and came to give us the greatest gift of all, the gift of Himself to us.

And that gift is what these songs are all about, that gift is what I felt on Christmas Eve, that gift is what this season is all about and that gift is what we will receive from that altar, Christ Himself, the same little child from Bethlehem.

Therefore, then, let us with the angels and archangels celebrate when it all began, when Heaven and nature sang that triumphant hymn of praise “Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth,” because today, in the city of David a savior, our savior, has, indeed, been born, He who is Christ the Lord, the Prince of Peace, our God, our Eucharist, indeed, His gift to the entire world.