In the first reading the prophet Isaiah proclaims: “Thus says the Lord: share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless” …and 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 that through doing good we both give glory to God and show forth the glory of God.
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 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 let their lives “shine” with the “light of the values of the Gospel”, that their lives are 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 values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As 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 with the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit, the Spirit of God, that emboldens us and impels us to go forth into the darkness to let our light shine, to share our bread with the hungry and to shelter the oppressed, the immigrant and refugee! Not build walls to keep them out but to welcome them and shelter them…” thus says the Lord”! In the midst of all the divisive national politics, how will I let my light shine this week? What areas of my life most “taste” like the Gospel?
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
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 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 let their lives “shine” with the “light of the values of the Gospel”, that their lives are 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 values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As 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 with the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit, the Spirit of God, that emboldens us and impels us to go forth into the darkness to let our light shine, to share our bread with the hungry and to shelter the oppressed, the immigrant and refugee! Not build walls to keep them out but to welcome them and shelter them…” thus says the Lord”! In the midst of all the divisive national politics, how will I let my light shine this week? What areas of my life most “taste” like the Gospel?
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
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