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This Sunday we read the opening lines of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which is the first of his five major discourses in the Gospel According to Mathew (chapters 5 – 7). It takes place “on the mountain,” a setting which recalls the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24). Matthew is presenting Jesus as the new Moses come to fulfill the Law. However, as Scott Hahn points out, “Moses brought the law down the mountain to the people, whereas Jesus delivers his teaching to disciples who have come up the mountain.”

This weekend the Church gives us yet another chance to say “Yes” to Jesus. We are near the beginning of the Gospel According to Matthew which will lead us through the thirty-four weeks of Ordinary Time. Jesus has been baptized by John, then the Spirit led him into the desert where he resisted the devil’s temptations for forty days. Then in today’s gospel, Jesus begins his public ministry. His first words are, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (4:17). Then he calls His first four disciples on an adventure.

This Sunday the Lord says to us, “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49: 6). And St. Paul addresses us as “the Church of God… called to be holy” (1 Corinthians 1: 2). That’s a pretty high calling! In many ways we are moving in this direction as a parish family. But how can we accelerate our growth in holiness and shine the light of salvation more brightly?

This weekend marks the end of the Christmas season as we celebrate the Baptism of The Lord. We began the Christmas season with the birth of our Lord, and we end it by fast-forwarding 30 years in his life to his baptism in the Jordan River. Church Fathers teach that Christ allowed John the Baptist to baptize him so that the Messiah could wash away the sins of the world. According to St. Peter Chrysologus (Sermo 160: PL 52, 620-622), John laid his hands on Jesus not to forgive but to receive forgiveness. Others such as St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Augustine emphasized Jesus’ humility, setting an example and the baptism’s role in establishing the sacrament that truly cleanses sins.

“Magi from the East” found their way to the Christ child by the guidance of a star and the Jewish Scriptures. There they “did him homage… offered him gifts… and departed for their country by another way” (Matthew 2: 1-12). Who were these mysterious Magi? And what is the main point of this captivating story?