Homilies

5th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: WE ARE THE SALT AND LIGHT OF THE WORLD

CHRISTIANITY IS BEING seen as counter-cultural. Remember the teaching of Jesus about the Beatitudes. The values being presented in it and the values of the kingdom are opposed or different from the values of the world. But Christianity is not about anachronism. Indeed, it is not outdated. Christians are simply called to be prophets in this world. As prophets, they must have something to teach to and in the world.

This could be the cogent reason why Jesus concluded his teaching to his disciples by exhorting them to become “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.” Let us try to reflect on these two images which we are all familiar with.

First, salt does two things to food. It adds taste to food and it preserves food.  Applying this to our Christian life, we should say that Christians should add flavor to life, and the values of Christianity should be preserved. In other words, Christianity calls for relevance and fidelity. To help us understand this, let us try to reflect on the ordinary organizations that we see in our society, be it ecclesial or civil. Experience tells us that the life of a certain organization depends on its social relevance. An organization which does not show any significance at all in the society is doomed to fail. That organization simply disappears. For Christianity, it is important to show its relevance to the world. This is the reason why the Church, despite the oppositions and ridicules, continues to speak the truth and denounce the evils in this world. Teaching social justice, for instance, is a mark of the Church. That makes the Church relevant to the world characterized by insensitivity and callousness. This is also a good reminder for us, Christians. If we allow our Christian values to be overpowered by the values of the world then we will lose our flavor, we will lose our relevance. If we compromise our Christianity, like forgetting to go mass on Sundays, then secularized people would no longer see the difference between them and us. Our distinction is gone, and if it this happens, then we lose our relevance. In addition, another challenge that a Christian faces today is a question of faithfulness. Faithfulness to responsibilities and faithfulness to relationships, like marital relationships. It can never be that easy. But preserving our values, by being faithful, we can indeed become salt of the earth.

Second, light is important to our day to day life. We cannot live without it. And light is more appreciated in darkness. The call of Christians to become light of the world suggests that they become witnesses of Christ. The First Reading helps us to understand this. The Lord through the prophet Isaiah says, “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.” If people are greedy, the world turns into dark. If we emphasize too much on privacy and individualism, we can be selfish, and we cannot be concerned with others. That is the darkness of the world. In this darkness, we should show the light. How? We know how generous Jesus was, and compassionate to those who were hungry and in need. The generosity which was in Christ should be shown and be felt by the world. If we learn how to be generous, we Christians can become, not only relevant, but also witnesses to the goodness of Christ. The light of Christ will shine in this world. As light, we can become significant.

Thus, the gospel passage is a fitting reminder of our status as followers of Christ. Our being Christian bears meaning and vocation, that is, to become salt of the earth, and light of Christ to the world.

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