In the first reading the prophet Isiah proclaims: “Thus says the Lord: share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless.”
Psalm 112 says that the just person is a light in the darkness!
In the Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to let their light shine, to be like beacons lighting a city on a hillside! And by allowing their light to shine they will lead others to see their good deeds and thus see the glory of God. So, through doing good we both give glory to God and show forth the glory of God to others.
Jesus also uses the metaphor of salt for the lives of the disciples and challenges them to be sure to not let their lives “lose their flavor” and become tasteless. It is interesting to note that in the ancient world, a world without refrigeration, salt was the only way to preserve fish and meat.
Just as light is essential for life to exist, so too salt was crucial for human survival! So, comparing the disciple’s lives to salt
had multiple layers of understanding and significance.
What is clear is that Jesus is calling the disciples to be on guard to make sure that the manner in which they live their lives
“shine” with the “light of the Gospel values,” that their lives were to be lived in such a manner that they have the “flavor of
the Gospel.”
So, we too, as disciples of Jesus, are called to the same, to let our lives “shine” and to be sure that our lives “taste” of the
values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As is so often said, the call to discipleship is no easy call; it is difficult and challenging. But we do not respond alone because by virtue of our Baptism we are strengthened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and by the community of believers.
It is this Spirit, the Spirit of God, living within each one of us, that emboldens us and impels us to go forth into the darkness and chaos of our world and to let our light shine, to share our bread with the hungry and to shelter the homeless, the oppressed, the immigrant and refugee.
Filled with the holy Spirit, let us to stand up and call out systemic racism in all its forms and in all the places it dwells and creates and allows for violence against the lives and bodies of our black and brown sisters and brothers, against our immigrant and refugee sisters and brothers! And may we all fight to create freedom from violence and poverty, let us raise our voices together, that all may live like children of the Light!
As I have asked for in the past, please write to Congress, both Republicans and Democrats. As American citizens, they are “OUR” federal legislative body and we all have a right to make our voices heard as they legislate and make laws and as they fail to legislate and make laws! We must call for fair and just immigration reform and an immediate end to the cruel and brutal ICE actions against our immigrant sisters and brothers.
As his disciples, Jesus Christ has called us to welcome the stranger, to house the homeless, to feed the hungry and to love our neighbor as ourselves. These were not suggestions but rather the hallmarks of how we, as his disciples, are to live our lives!
May the peace and light of the Risen Christ be upon you all!
Fr. Tim
Psalm 112 says that the just person is a light in the darkness!
In the Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to let their light shine, to be like beacons lighting a city on a hillside! And by allowing their light to shine they will lead others to see their good deeds and thus see the glory of God. So, through doing good we both give glory to God and show forth the glory of God to others.
Jesus also uses the metaphor of salt for the lives of the disciples and challenges them to be sure to not let their lives “lose their flavor” and become tasteless. It is interesting to note that in the ancient world, a world without refrigeration, salt was the only way to preserve fish and meat.
Just as light is essential for life to exist, so too salt was crucial for human survival! So, comparing the disciple’s lives to salt
had multiple layers of understanding and significance.
What is clear is that Jesus is calling the disciples to be on guard to make sure that the manner in which they live their lives
“shine” with the “light of the Gospel values,” that their lives were to be lived in such a manner that they have the “flavor of
the Gospel.”
So, we too, as disciples of Jesus, are called to the same, to let our lives “shine” and to be sure that our lives “taste” of the
values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As is so often said, the call to discipleship is no easy call; it is difficult and challenging. But we do not respond alone because by virtue of our Baptism we are strengthened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and by the community of believers.
It is this Spirit, the Spirit of God, living within each one of us, that emboldens us and impels us to go forth into the darkness and chaos of our world and to let our light shine, to share our bread with the hungry and to shelter the homeless, the oppressed, the immigrant and refugee.
Filled with the holy Spirit, let us to stand up and call out systemic racism in all its forms and in all the places it dwells and creates and allows for violence against the lives and bodies of our black and brown sisters and brothers, against our immigrant and refugee sisters and brothers! And may we all fight to create freedom from violence and poverty, let us raise our voices together, that all may live like children of the Light!
As I have asked for in the past, please write to Congress, both Republicans and Democrats. As American citizens, they are “OUR” federal legislative body and we all have a right to make our voices heard as they legislate and make laws and as they fail to legislate and make laws! We must call for fair and just immigration reform and an immediate end to the cruel and brutal ICE actions against our immigrant sisters and brothers.
As his disciples, Jesus Christ has called us to welcome the stranger, to house the homeless, to feed the hungry and to love our neighbor as ourselves. These were not suggestions but rather the hallmarks of how we, as his disciples, are to live our lives!
May the peace and light of the Risen Christ be upon you all!
Fr. Tim
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