Let Your Light Shine!

(Homily 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr-A)

          At the heart of today’s invitation for us Christians to be salt and light, that preserve others from corruption, give flavor to the life of others and enlighten those around us, is the existential decision to do good. On this, Isaiah in the first reading invites us to share our bread with the poor, to help the miserable and the homeless. St. Mathew in the Gospel admonished us on the necessity for good works, which Isaiah has already concretized. And it is indeed on this passage of Isaiah’s prophecy that we have to examine ourselves to know if truly we are the salt and light of the world. St. Paul in the second reading gives us a wonderful input: humility in words and in action. Therefore, in any field a Christian finds himself or herself, be it economy, political and religious he or she has to work hard for the good of the poor, and then against oppression and injustice. This invitation for an authentic Christian is not optional, rather an imperative. The Lord has not lighted in us the flame of faith for us to hide it jealously in us, rather that we might communicate it to others. Christianity is about attraction through our good works and not proselytism and over-moralizing. We are therefore called to offer humanity the salt of faith excavated from the inexhaustible mine of divine grace and light beaming from His abiding presence. Let your light shine!

          In the first reading (Is. 58:7-10) the Israelites just returned from exile, they were trying to practice exteriorly the acts of devotion as prescribed by God: praying, seeking the Lord and fasting. But to them it does appear that God was not hearing their prayers, then they reproached God for His silence: “Why have we fasted, if you do not see, why mortify ourselves if you never notice?’ Look, you seek your own pleasure on your fastdays and you exploit all your workmen” (Is. 58:3). Many a times we have demonstrated this type of attitude when it seems to us that God has not hearkened to our supplications. But prophet Isaiah in the name of God debunked their presumption, and he reminded them of a series of sins that provoke God’s anger (cf. Is. 58:4-5). Isaiah reproached them that it is not enough to pray and fast, because prayer and fasting are useless if they are not expression of an interior attitude of detachment from sin and the overcoming of one’s egoism. Prayer and fasting are pleasing to God when they are accompanied with a pure heart and the works of charity and justice.

          Isaiah in his prophecy laid emphasis on concrete works of light. He says: “Is it not sharing your food with the hungry, and sheltering the homeless poor; if you see someone lacking clothes, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own kin? Then your light will blaze out like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Saving justice will go ahead of you and Yahweh’s glory come behind you” (vv.7-8). Indeed, it is when our good works shine that God will answer us, that he will assure us of his presence. “Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call and he will say, ‘I am here.’… if you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness” (vv.9-10). It is only when one has done the aforementioned good works that he can call God, and God answers. And indeed, who acts in such a manner will shine like light in the darkness. It is the power of good example and the rectitude of the heart that enable one to shine. Today in our society the hungry, the homeless and the helpless abound. Especially the affluent ones among us, how do we make effort to help these categories of people in our midst? Isaiah speaks about doing away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words, that is oppression, pointing of fingers and violent words, these pollute and obfuscate our co-existence and togetherness. We need to live as true sons/daughters and disciples of light.

         In the Gospel passage (Mt. 5:13-16) Jesus delineated for his disciples and followers the two major spiritual personality traits of a Christian: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world”. Jesus addressed those words not only to his immediate apostles, but to all his disciples, for the context of this passage was immediately after the discourse on the Beatitudes, and there was a large group of people following him. Salt is used for purification and cleansing. Prophet Elisha used salt to purify the foul water and it became wholesome (cf. 2Kgs 2:19-22). Salt also has the quality of preserving from corruption, as salt a Christian has to preserve the environment in which he lives through the testimony of his works. Again, light is meant to illumine, a Christian is a light who with the word of God illumines the human minds and situations. A Christian is like a lighted lamp that cannot be hidden because his or her good works cannot be obfuscated by obscurity in the world. In which sense are the disciples salt and light? Certainly, they are not salt and light in themselves alone, rather they are in the measure they participate in the Eternal Light: Christ. Jesus says: “I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will not be walking in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn.8:12). The Psalmist says: “your word is a lamp for my step, a light on my path” (Ps. 119:105). Again, St. John affirms: “The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone” (Jn. 1:9). He is the true Salt and Light, in whom we are flavored and enlightened humanly and spiritually.

        Jesus is the salt of the earth, without him, the world is insipid, without the taste of eternity the world decomposes morally. St. Bernard said, whatever I listen to or read is insipid if I do not find the name of Jesus. Then, in what sense did Jesus attribute to his disciples the prerogative of being salt and light? It is in the measure they are illumined by his word, that they can become agents of light and make his light shine. As they have been made to participate in the divinity and Spirit of Christ they have to make others be enlightened by Christ. As a matter of fact, at the event of our Baptism we have received this responsibility. In the rite of Baptism the priest says: “Receive this salt, in order to be always fervent in the spirit” and again, “Receive this ardent light…”. Therefore, in Baptism we receive the Spirit of Christ, and as such, we become like him: salt of the earth and light of the world. We light our small candles from his great light. Little wonder, St. Paul says: “You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; behave as children of light” (Eph. 5:8), ‘In the Lord’, not in ourselves. He continued thus: “for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and uprightness and truth” (Eph. 5:9). We need to allow the light of Christ to dispel the darkness in our lives, to dispel the darkness of our corrupt nature, so that through us his light and love will be manifested to others. The responsibility invested upon us, is to permit Jesus to continue to be light and salt of the earth through us. Thus, bearing witness for him before men, as he requested (cf. Acts. 1:8).

          The affirmation above helps us to grasp how concretely we are called to be light and salt to others. We are to realize that by living intensely our Christian experience, communicating to others light, joy, the capacity to love and to be loved which the presence of Jesus gives us, and striving to live in such a coherent manner that those who have not discovered Jesus will realize that only Jesus can give adequate meaning to our human existence. Indeed, there are some attitudes that are eloquent: amiability, mercy and generosity. And above all, the eloquent attitude of bearing witness to the truth. Not only that, Jesus speaks of something more concrete: good works, that is the work of light, which men see and give glory to the Heavenly Father.

          We need to ask ourselves: for whom are we expected to be salt and light? The Gospel says ‘of the world’ or ‘of the earth’. Here, the world stands to indicate our small daily world: our family, our environment of work or business. An authentic Christian cannot afford to be: “street angel, house devil.” Jesus speaks of a real light, a lamp that is lighted so that it will give light to the whole house. We really need to be light to those in our own houses as Jesus expresses symbolically with the imagery of the light in the house. Literally we need to be light to our families, to those around us, and especially today that violent in the families is on the rise. We need to be witnesses of Jesus, the Light. Indeed, the invitation of Jesus to us, to be salt and light is not an easy one, little wonder, he talked about salt that loses its taste and the light that goes off. An insipid Christian is one whose life is no longer informed and formed by the Gospel, and he becomes “the most miserable of all men” because he is denigrated for his incoherence. Today, we have many insipid Christians and those their light has gone off, those living in darkness.

          By that, Jesus means that our action has to have the same characteristics of salt, that is, to preserve from corruption and to give taste and flavor to the world and to the society, preserving it from corruption through the proclamation of the truth of Christ and with the integrity of our lives inspired by his teachings. Again, our exemplary lives have to become light for all men, a light that cannot and must not be hidden. A Christian has to be like a city built on a mountain, which is visible to all. A Christian who acts in secret, ashamed of what he does and says, is an agent of darkness; he or she has lost his taste and value as salt and light. A Christian who has lost his taste and value as salt and light lives contrary to his mission, he has failed in his responsibility as compass that gives others orientation towards God. Jesus is very clear on this, for he says if salt loses its taste is worthless. So if you are not salt and light to those that encounter you, you have failed in your vocation as a Christian.

          In the passage of the second reading (1Cor. 2:1-5) St. Paul said he presented himself not with “lofty words or of wisdom”, but in extreme poverty of human means, in full awareness of his nothingness: “I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling”, this could be regarded as part of Paul’s autobiography, and it is quite captivating. Truly, St. Paul confirms that on our own alone we cannot be salt of the earth and light of the world, we can only be when Christ has encountered us with his grace and when we are united with Christ in faith and in love. Paul did not present himself with sublimity of words and wisdom and his speech and message were not based on plausible words of wisdom, but on the demonstration of the Spirit and power. This indeed is interesting for there are three salient and determining elements for Paul and by extension for us: ●To know Christ and Christ crucified: which entails having a living and a profound experience of Christ. ●The manifestation of the Spirit of God and his power: he never based his proclamation on human wisdom and standard. ●To demonstrate with facts that the Spirit and the power of God have changed our lives.

         As a matter fact, unaided, left for our strength alone we cannot be true salt and light. Thus, we cannot offer others the taste and the joy of living, the just vision of reality and the correct orientation for life without Jesus, we need the Eternal Light in order to shine. On our own unaided by divine grace we will remain insipid and in darkness. For this the Psalmist affirmed: “In you is the source of life, and in your light we see light” (Ps. 36:9). To say it with St. Paul: “caritas Christi urget nos” (2Cor. 5:14), it is the love of Christ that inundates our hearts and propels us to become salt and light to those around us. Therefore, beloved in Christ, to safeguard the light we have received on the day of our Baptism is a daily conquest, it requires the effort to put on our little light each time it goes off, from the great Light who is Christ. And no doubt, the Eucharist is a privileged occasion to revive our identity of salt and light, for the Eucharist enlivens, enlightens and revives us. May His light continue to radiate in and through us, for in your light Lord we see light! Let your light shine!!

 (Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)