Who are the ‘salt’ and ‘light’
TODAY is Sunday, February 9, 2020. It is the second Sunday of the second month of the year. It is the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Catholic Church liturgical calendar.
This day’s Psalm is, “The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.”
This Sunday’s 1st Reading is from Isaiah 58:7-10.
Thus says the Lord: Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am. If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted, then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.
Today’s 2nd Reading is from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. It says:
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
This Sunday’s Gospel is from Mathew 5:13-16. Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
REFLECTION: “Salt” and “light” are among the simplest necessities of life, and as it usually happens with man’s basic needs, they are almost always taken for granted. But when food suddenly tastes “saltless,” and when light is suddenly put out, we are brusquely reminded of how much we need them.
When Jesus tells the disciples “You are the salt of the earth,” “You are the light of the world,” he is giving the disciples a tremendous mission that is of paramount importance. They are important to the world as salt and light are important to daily life. And they cannot relegate this mission without dire consequences to the world. Without the Gospel, life would be pale and tasteless and humanity would be without direction.
In truth it is Jesus who gives “taste” and meaning to human life and preserves it from the destructive influence of sin. It is Jesus who is “light” and enlightens the heart of everyone to receive God’s salvation in faith. But inasmuch as Christians are branches “grafted” to the vine (Jesus) and they are “Christ like,” they too become authentic salt and light.
NB: Our heartfelt thanks to the St. Paul’s Publishing, publisher of the book 365 Days with the Lord from where we source the Words of God that we are helping share with other faithful of Christ. –COLUMNIST