Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 5, 2023. Gospel of St. Matthew 5:13-16. Theme: Salt & Light
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that our lives, if lived as he taught us, are the single most convincing way to give witness to him. And He uses salt and light to illustrate what he is talking about.
Let’s first take a look at salt. We all know what salt does: it brings out the best in food and makes it more appealing. That’s what we are all supposed to do with our lives. Our personal relationship with Jesus is meant to bring out the best in us. It is meant to show those with whom we live, work and socialize that Christ can transform people into the best version of themselves that they can be. But Jesus warns us that if we lose our saltiness, that is, if we become just like everyone else in how we treat others and how we live, then we have lost the spice of Christianity. We become useless for carrying out the mission of witnessing to Him.
Moving on to the example of light, we all know how vital it is to our daily living! Among other things, it brings us clarity, warmth and safety. And when driving it makes it possible for us to see where we are going so that we reach our destination. In the same way, the more people examine our behavior enlightened by Christ, the clearer it can be for them to see the pathway to real love and happiness in life. The inner peace and strength we possess even in the midst of difficulties might enlighten them to investigate a relationship with Jesus for themselves.
But the salt and light of Christianity can do even more than change the individual person. It can - and indeed has - changed the world! Western culture as we know it would not be ours to enjoy today had it not been for Christianity sprinkling the salt of the Gospel and diffusing the light of Christ throughout the world for the past 2,000 years. We should be informed and properly proud of how our faith has helped to make the world a better place, especially today when Christians have become open targets and Christianity’s social influence is being ignored or falsely denied.
Christianity’s salt and light fueled many scientists to make vital discoveries in their fields such as: Copernicus, the priest who discovered that the sun is the center of the universe; the Jesuit priest George Lemaitre who came up with the Big Bang theory of the universe’s origin; Gregor Mendel, a monk who gave birth to modern genetics; and Louis Pasteur, a committed lay Catholic and pioneer of infectious disease control.
Christianity’s salt and light gave inspiration and encouragement to the classic works of the fine arts such as: Michelangelo & Leonardo DaVinci in painting, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Johann Sebastian Bach in music, Dante Alighieri & J.R. Tolkien in literature.
Christianity’s salt and light moved heroic figures to stand up on behalf of women, children, the dying and the disabled throughout history. Before Christianity arrived in various parts of the world, women were considered property like a man’s life-stock; children were regarded as not much better than slaves; the dying were abandoned in the wilderness; and the disabled were killed for being thought of as cursed. Christianity spoke up for the sanctity of marriage and human life. Missionaries brought with them the establishment of hospitals, orphanages and medical clinics and the Church remains today the single largest sponsor of social services in the world.
Christianity’s salt and light gave determination and perseverance to the leaders of the civil and human rights movements. The slavery abolitionist Frederick Douglass was a Methodist minister and Harriet Tubman, mother of the famous Underground Railroad to Freedom was a staunch Christian. St. Katherine Drexel gave her whole life as well as her billion-dollar inheritance to the education and social promotion of Black and Native Americans; and of course, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Baptist minister. It was the salt and light of the Christian communities of the Southern USA that fueled the drive for racial equality under the law.
So, with all this in mind - and knowing what we are meant to be and what the world can be - let’s ask Jesus for the grace to never lose our saltiness. Let's ask to never cease to be light in the darkness of this world. The Christians who have gone before us and who made such an impact on the world have shown us what the Gospel can do when it is truly lived out in flesh and blood reality. Their witness gives us absolutely amazing stories about how both people and places can be transformed by coming in contact with the salt and light of Christ flowing out of the lives of ordinary Christians like you and me.
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