INTRODUCTION
One thing Salt and Light have in common is that they produce noticeable differences wherever they are. The readings today invite us for a renewed way of living that will bring light into the darkness of our world and a taste in the lives of men.
FIRST READING: Isaiah 58:7-10
In the First, Reading Isaiah criticized the artificiality of the faith present in the life of the people. Those who claim to be religious were also at the helm of social injustice and oppression. It was all an atmosphere of the exploiting of the poor. Yes in this type of atmosphere. Yet in this context the people were expecting the fulfilment of the promises of the restoration of Jerusalem.They wondered why it was taking such a long time. But God spoke through Isaiah reminding them that the restoration and glory cannot be sought for amidst evil whereby the weak are oppressed. The prophet offers them remedy for the restoration that is, turning away from the old way by sharing the bread with the hungry sheltering the oppressed and homeless; clothing the naked…only then shall the light shine upon them in darkness and the gloom shall become for them like midday (Is 58:7.10). The problem here is that the wicked life of the strong became a source of darkness for the whole people, neither they nor the oppressed were enjoying the glory of God. Isn’t it the type of experience we live? Sometimes our personal weaknesses can be an obstacle and the downfall of others. Like the first recipients of the message of Isaiah, we can never produce light if we cannot allow others to experience light. We can never be sons of the light when we are the cause of the darkness in the light of others. We have to ask ourselves if the glory of God is still with us in our different little worlds of injustices and oppression. Isaiah invites us to evaluate our way of living.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
When Paul visited the Greeks in Athens he did not make a great impact. He chose the path of persuasive philosophical argument to demonstrate that the altar of the unknown god is indeed the true God the maker of heaven and earth. At the end of found himself on able to convince the athenians because these were great philosophers (Acts 17:15-34). Later he understood that conversion cannot be achieved through human logic and wisdom rather it is the working of the Holy Spirit. This is the context of the Second Reading-a change of approach. That’s why he tells the Corinthians today “when I came to you brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom…but in demonstration of the Spirit and power that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” Paul was able to build a new approach of insisting on the power of the Cross of Christ and this brought many into faith both Jews and pagans.
This experience of Paul challenges that it is only when we move from depending on our human capacities to depend totally on God that we can be salted and lighted by Him in order to be able to make great impact in the life of the world.
GOSPEL: Matthew 5:13-16
The Gospel of today is part of the long discourse of Jesus on beatitude. He uses Salt and Light metaphorically to demonstrate how the life of the Blessed should be.
SALT
The word salary which is remuneration for work done actually means “salt of a man”-that which adds taste to his life. It is derivative of the Latin “Salarium” which simply means “salt” (in the ancient Rome it is a specific amount of money often given to a Roman soldier to buy salt).
Just like in many cultures, the use of salt was very much central in the life of the ancient Hebrews. It did not just serve as a condiment for food or for the preservation of food, but it was equally used for medical purposes; for example it was used on the newborn infants (Ezk. 16:4). It also served for healing as in the case of Elisha healing the spring of water near Jericho (2 Kgs 2:21). In some cases it was used for religious purposes in the offering of sacrifices (Lev. 21:22); and God commanded: “Every ablation of meals you must season with salt” (Lev. 2:13; Ezk 43:24). It was equally useful in the preparation of the temple offerings (Ezra 6:9; 7:22).
In the rabbinic tradition which Jesus belonged to, salt also symbolised the covenant between God and Israel. The covenant is interpreted as “covenant of salt” (Nb 18:19).
LIGHT
Isn’t it interesting to note that the Bible begins with the concept of light and closes with the concept of light? In the Book of Genesis, the creation of the world began with utterance “Let There Be Light” (Gen. 1:3); and at the end of every creation, the author of the book of Genesis will say; “evening came and morning came.” Both realities represent darkness and light respectively, but light is conceived as the symbol of good and the Beautiful; the symbol of victory over darkness. Even the Jewish festival of Hanukkah is celebrated alongside with a continuous lightning of candles to symbolise how Light dominates Darkness.
In the last chapters of the Book of Revelation the glory of God was described as light that will illumine the Heavenly city and the lamb as its lamp (Rev. 21:23). However, in the Old Testament, the revelations of God are often presented in the image of light (shekhinah divine presence- Deut. 4:11; Ezk. 1:28; Ex. 16:10.42). And in the New Testament the Father revealed His Son as light (Mt.4:16; Jn.1:5; 8:12) and this was made more evident on Mount Tabor of transfiguration where he He was dazzling (Mt.17:1-8; Mk.9:2-8; Lk.9:28-36).
Why all these long expression of the meaning of Salt and Light? This is to tell us that Jesus who is a Rabbi per excellence used what were at the reach of his disciples to pass important message. They knew this long list of the usefulness of Salt and Light. So Jesus invites them to be Salt in order to season, to preserve, to heal and to be a sign of God’s covenant among his people. And as Light, he calls them to light up the world. When he says that their light must not be hidden but must be placed on a lamp stand to be seen, he actually makes allusion to Jerusalem on hill top- Jerusalem seen as the light of all nations, the pride of the people of God and the dwelling of God (Is 49:6). Hence the life of a disciple must be seen by all as a testimony of the presence of God in the midst of his people.
LIFE MESSAGE
WE NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO JESUS
It is in the nature of the electric bulb to produce light but it cannot possibly do such if it is not connected to a source (a current switch). We might be living big, moving and bouncing, but if we don’t have Jesus in our lives, we are incomplete. It is only when we are connected to him, our only “life-generating current” that we can shine; and as long as we are not disconnected from him, we have an “eternal life span” because he is the “Eternal I am.”
WE MUST LIGHT UP THE LIFE OF THE WORLD
We live in a world where people seem to desire evil than good. Evil seems to be increasing everyday with new forms and styles of living that do not encourage the faith in God; and sometimes the forces of evil are too strong, capable of diminishing the light we have. We must always recharge our battery through constant prayers, meditating the Word of God and participating in the sacraments (confession and the Eucharist), if not we will experience a “Spiritual light-off” and will be engrossed in darkness. Our world needs light. The Gospel is still struggling to survive; and sometimes it is not the message in itself but our lifestyle that is weakening the power of the Gospel to penetrate. Jesus is asking us to allow the light in us to shine. Let us stop covering it. Have we sometimes cared to ask ourselves; why is it that the lives of the people we meet everyday are still the same? How many of us can truly boast that someone has found Christ through us?
HOW CAN WE BECOME SALT?
We live in a human society. The other is my responsibility. There are marks of misery in the faces of many people around us begging for mercy. We can only become salt when we learn how to value the other; season the life of the other; influence lives; put smiles on faces; console broken hearts; bring peace amidst crisis; intervene where there is injustice. Many lives are tasteless. Some people no longer find meaning in living. They often think of suicide as an option to put an end to their miserable lives. Others have grown so bitter about God to the point that they consider him fictitious. Jesus begs us today to season the lives of these people. We all know someone. Yes they need you and I in any way possible in order to regain their ‘lost taste and be preserved from spoiling the more.’ Let us not sit back and say what can we do? A little sprinkle of salt changes the taste of a meal, so a little salt from our heart is enough to change the lives of thousands out there. It will be beautiful if I add, and you add and we all add, then we will have a tasty world.
PRAYER
Lord when we are bitten around by the worries of this life, help us not to lose our light and our taste. Keep us always connected to you our true source of light and taste. Amen.
PAX VOBIS!
