The first reading for mass today from the book of Kings, is about water, flour and oil. And the gospel today is about salt. It’s kind of funny when you think about it, because these are the basic ingredients of bread. Actually, it would have to be unleavened bread, because neither one of the readings today mentions yeast. Jesus did mention salt though, and bread would be tasteless without the salt.
Ok. So, this sounds like a silly thing to notice. But, is it really? The old testament is always fulfilled in the new, and the Catholic church put the readings for mass together the way they did, for a reason.
The basic theme of the first reading for mass is about complete trust in God though. Elijah was in hiding until the water ran dry where he was staying. God told him to leave and go to Zarephath and he did, completely trusting that God would take care of him. He trusted God so much that he made the widow he met in Zarephath, fix him a little cake to eat with the last remnants of the flour and oil she had. This was even after she told him they were prepared to die after they ate this last bit of food. Elijah had enough confidence in God to eat her last bit of food, trusting that God would take care of them from that moment on.
God gave the prophet Elijah and the widow from Zarephath, the basic ingredients to sustain their lives, a little each day. The jar of flour did not go empty and the jug of oil never ran out, and there was enough bread every day to feed the prophet Elijah, the widow, and her son too.
What an awesome story! We worry ourselves sick sometimes about a lack of money, or how much we spend at the grocery store, or how we are going to make ends meet at the end of the month, but we are not nearly in as dire straits as the widow in this story. The prophet Elijah is the perfect example of complete confidence and trust in God, even in the most desperate of circumstances. We would do well to remember him, when we start worrying about our own future. Elijah was only concerned about the moment he was living in, and left the rest to God.
Do you remember when Jesus said:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ” Mt 6: 25-32
Jesus is talking about the same thing that happened to the prophet Elijah and the widow from Zarephath. The old testament is reflected in the new.
Do you also remember the first sentence in today’s first reading, when Elijah was in hiding when the water ran out? God brought him out of hiding, to a widow who needed him, just as much as Elijah needed her. Then, Jesus said in today’s gospel that:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
If Elijah hadn’t trusted God enough to come out of hiding and go look for the widow in Zarephath, his deep faith and trust in God would have never been made known to anyone else. God was glorified by the miracle of the flour and oil that never ran out for a whole year until the rains returned. This miracle is still being told to this day. We are still reading about this miracle, thousands of years after the fact, because the prophet Elijah left his hiding place and trusted God with his life completely, in full view of the widow of Zarephath and the community that she lived in.
This is what Jesus is talking about when he said in today’s gospel that, “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?” The widow from Zeraphath’s world was living in a pretty plain place until Elijah left his hiding place and went out into the world, giving such a wonderful testimony to his faith and trust in God. Elijah was living salt, that flavored his world with God’s abiding love.
Jesus calls us to be salt too, in much the same way. We aren’t supposed to hide our Catholic faith inside our own homes and blend in with everyone else around us. Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the one who lives within us. We are called to go forth and flavor our world, with his love. The ways that we show our love for Jesus and for one another, should stand out from everyone else around us. In this way, Jesus will shine through us.
Daily Mass Readings:
Kings 17: 7-16 / Psalm 4 / Matthew 5: 13-16
