We are the salt and the light of the world

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Gerard Majella Church

Sunday, February 9, 2014

There is story of a father who was teaching his son what a Christian should be like. He taught his son that a Christian is the salt of the earth and the light of the world and few other things. At the end of the lesson, the father realized that he has dug a big hole for himself because the little boy then asked him, “But daddy, how come I have never met one of these Christians?”

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:13-16), Jesus used two vivid images to describe what it means to be a Christian: “You are the salt of the earth,” “You are the light of the world.” Salt is a very common seasoning, and unless for medical reasons, it’s something we put in everything we cook. Of all the seasonings we use for cooking, salt is the most important. Without it in a food, it lacks real taste. Salt makes our food tastes better. It is a seasoning that enhances the flavor of food. Now, when the Lord said that we are the salt of the earth, what he meant is that we are the seasoning that spice up life. Life is not all about gloom, doom and fear. Wherever there’s gloom, we are to sow hope, hope in the Lord. We should be the most optimistic people in the world and our optimism should be centered on the fact that He lives. Because our Redeemer lives, we can face tomorrow. Jesus wants us to bring hope where there is cynicism, to sow joy where there is sadness. Even in the face of trial and tribulation, speak with Job in Job 19:25, “I know my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” Salt brings out the best taste of food, Jesus wants us to be the flavor that brings out the best in everyone. He wants us to bring out the best in us, and the best in the world. He wants us to give human life a meaning.

In the ancient world, salt was also used as preservatives. Before refrigeration and canning became the order of the day, meat and fish were preserved either dried or smoked or it was heaped with salt. Salt was used to preserve meat and fish, to keep them fresh and free from corruption. Jesus wants us to preserve the world from becoming rotten, bad and ill. He wants us to preserve the family, to preserve human life, to preserve the church, to preserve our bodies, to preserve truth. He wants us to have a certain antiseptic influence on life. We must influence the world and not the other way round. 

Salt was also used as curative. It has some medicinal value. Too much of salt can trigger high blood pressure, but salt deficiency can cause some diseases too. Before modern medicine, salt was used as antiseptic. It was often poured into an open wound to clean any impurities. By asking us to be the salt of the earth, Jesus is also asking us to be healers. He wants us to heal and cure the brokenhearted, the depressed, the lonely, the hungry, the bereaved, and those who experience the tragedy of life. We should not be indifferent to the pain of the other just because it is not happening to us. When one person suffers, we all suffer. We are the Body of Christ. The tragedy of the other should be the tragedy of all. Indifference is not a virtue. Silence is golden but not when you notice discrimination and maltreatment of another person. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.” We are to spread the message of hope and forgiveness, the message of our Savior who heals all who are hurt and wounded. The best cure we can render to our offenders is forgiveness. Salt also creates thirst. We are called to make people thirst for Jesus, thirst for righteousness and goodness. 

Jesus also said we are the light of the world, and we are to put our light on the lamp-stand so that everyone in the house can see it. So the Lord is not only asking us to preserve the world from deteriorating, he also wants us to shed light on the darkness of the world. But remember that the light that radiates or shines from us is the light of Christ. We have no light of our own. Psalm 36: 9 says “For you (Lord) are the fountain of life, and in your light we see light.” So what we say or do can brighten or dim the light of Christ. A light is something that is easily seen. Christianity should be seen. A Christian should be seen and known. There can be nothing like secret discipleship. Our Christianity should be visible to all. Christianity should not be visible only in the Church. A Christianity that stops at the church is worthless. A Catholic should be a Catholic in the factory, in the restaurant, in the workshop, in the classroom, in the kitchen, in the office, in the golf-course, in the hospital, in the library, and everywhere. St Augustine once closed his Mass with these words, “I am about to lay aside this book and you are soon going away, each to your own business. It has been good for us to share our common light, good to have enjoyed ourselves, good to have been glad together. When we part from one another, let us not depart from Him.” A light is a guide. We are to be the guide of the nations. Jesus wants us to be a shinning example to others.