Is 58:7-10
1 Cor 2:1-5
Mt 5:13-16
Salt and Light
Salt and light are important to life in many ways. In Jesus’ time, salt was used for cooking, as a preservative and a healing agent. Think how bland much of our food would be today without some salt as flavoring. Since the beginning of time, light has been essential. Think of all the natural disaster this past year when people lost power, leaving evenings and nights in total darkness.
The metaphors of salt and light in Sunday’s gospel show us what our responsibility is as disciples of Jesus. Jesus’ call to be salt for the earth and light for the world clearly points to the motivation for our mission as baptized Christians. An important aspect of our mission as disciples is our commitment to social Justice. The first reading for Sunday illustrates this and is worth reflecting on and applying it to our personal lives.
Thus says the LORD:
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,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
If you remove from your midst
oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
if you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday.
In what ways have you “flavored” someone’s life through your words and actions?
How do you bring light out of darkness, that is, out of some negative situation?
Angela For Today 