Living
How Can I Make An Impact In Other People’s Lives And In The World Like Salt And Light?
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Isa 58.7-10;
I Cor 2.1-5;
Mt 5.13-16
You will put salt in every grain offering that you offer, and you will not fail to put the salt of the covenant of your God on your grain offering; to every offering you will add an offering of salt to your God.- Leviticus 2:13.
A RECAP
Jesus says to his disciples and us today you are salt of the earth…you are light of the world. A city built on a hill too cannot be hidden. How do I become this? If we recall last week Sunday’s gospel passage of the sermon of the mount on which our Lord and teacher goes up the hill to teach his disciples with the beatitudes-the inner disposition and fight attitudes of Christian living and struggles. Christ I’m today’s gospel continues from there.
SALT
Salt has cleansing and hygienic power, it serves as preservative. It serves as a condiment.In the Jewish rites of sacrifice Salt is an essential requirement The Talmud says this apply salt to all offerings. It is a symbol of the covenant and permanence.
Honey and leven cannot be used in sacrifices. (Lev 2:11). Honey and leven symbolise fermentation and subsequent decay and decomposition; salt is a preservative. The idea of permanence is the basis of the “salt of the covenant” mentioned in Leviticus 2:13 and When Jeroboam and the ten northern tribs break away from the House of David, Abijah, the king of Judah, assures Jeroboam that God has given the kingdom to the House of David as a’ covenant of salt”. -a symbol of relevance and permanence ( 2 Chronicles 13:5) Elisha purifies the waters of Jericho by casting salt into the springs2kings2:20-21. This we make reference to during the blessing of water and salt.
LIGHT
You are the light of the world”. One work that we can do for God is to bring back some of the savour the world has lost, perhaps by helping people to be a little clearer about the boundaries between right and wrong. “You are the light of the world.” We can all shed light on dark places, by sharing with those in despair our belief that there is hope, and by showing those who have separated themselves from God that Our Lord is always inviting them back. “Your light must shine in the sight of men, so that seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.” Here Our Lord is not suggesting that we try too hard to become hyperactive do-gooders, but rather that we simply allow others to judge for themselves the value of what we do. During the liturgy of Baptism, the newly baptised is given a lighted candle, a sign of the light of Christ and an invitation to be a light in the world. If our lives give out any light, Jesus simply tells us not to hide our light under a bushel.
SALT AND LIGHT WHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON
We know that part of the quality of salt is to be unassuming. No normal person wants the flavour of salt to dominate their meal. The purpose of adding salt is not to superadd flavour, but to bring out the natural and inherent taste that is in the food so as is light that shines not for us to look at the light but to see clearly other things. It is like cleaning a window so that you can look on the scenery with greater clarity. You don’t want to see the window; you want to see the view. Salt encourages the latent flavour to come forth and delight us. But it is strictly a backroom operation; salt does its work and retires.-Micheal Casey OCSO
If we take a look at our first reading, taken from the book of prophet Isaiah, the prophet illustrates some of the challenges of his society. That is affecting nation building. People turned their heads away from those who are hungry. The oppressed and the homeless were mistreated. Even fellow countrymen were ignored. This is why Jesus’s ministry was so profound. He was the light who had come to people in darkness. And then he said to those on the hillside, “Now you, go be light!”Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 60:3
A SALIENT QUESTION
How is God calling today to make an impact on the cosmic drama of human redemption? What does this environment need in order to be made whole?What is it that needs repair?What tasks are lying around waiting to be performed?At what points do my talents meet the world’s deep need?
EXAMINE THYSELF
So we need to examine both our prayer life and our track record on putting our faith into practice, to try to ensure some balance and that there is evidence that we do both, that prayer and action are both present. We should also be open to the unexpected. It may be that, quite suddenly, God comes to us more intensely than ever before when we pray. Or it may be that we sense a vocation to do something unexpected for God. An Anglican writer on prayer a generation ago, Kenneth Leech, used a striking phrase in one of his books, when he stated that contemplation is a subversive activity. By contemplation we mean deep prayer in which the soul enters into direct communication with God. The person who gives himself or herself to this prayer of contemplation will begin to see more as Our Lord sees, to hear God’s voice speaking more clearly, to judge worldly matters in a less worldly way. No wonder Isaiah, who was given to God in prayer, produced such clear and demanding social teaching: Share your bread with the hungry and shelter the homeless poor… do away with the yoke, the clenched fist…
Fr Joseph Osho
