Salt of the Earth and Light of the World!
Salt of the Earth and Light of the World!
Mother Teresa of Calcutta did all she did out of love, and it brightened the whole world. Commenting on this point, former British TV star Malcolm Muggeridge said in effect: “I can’t tell you how much I owe to Mother Teresa. She showed me Christianity in action. She showed me love in action. She showed me how the love of one person can start a tidal wave that can spread across the world.” Indeed, Mother Teresa shows how one can be the light of the world. Mother Teresa simply set out to love. And in love, she became a light for the whole world.
Last Sunday, we began reading from the Sermon on the Mount and reflected on the Beatitude. This Sunday’s Gospel is a continuation of last Sunday's meditation on Jesus’ calling to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). The disciples are not the salt and light of Israel but of the whole world. This foreshadows the final commission of the Risen Lord: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Pope Benedict XIV says, Jesus takes his seat on the cathedra as the teacher of people everywhere. Jesus sits on the cathedra of Moses. But he does so not in the manner of teachers trained for the job in a school; he sits there as the greater Moses, who broadens the Covenant to include all nations.
Salt is a precious commodity in the biblical context. The word “salary” comes from the Ancient Roman era, when soldiers were paid in salt. Salt was an essential requirement for all sacrifices. We read in Leviticus 2:13, “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking from your grain offering. On every offering, you shall offer salt.”
Salt added flavor to the food. Job 6:6 “Can anything insipid be eaten without salt?” Ben Sira includes salt among the essentials of life: "The prime needs of human beings for a living are water, fire, and salt, wheat flour, milk and honey, the use of grapes, oil, and clothing." Ecclesiasticus 39:26.
Salt is used for cleansing and hygiene. 2King 2:20-21 says, Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt into it.” When they had brought it to him, he went out to the spring and threw salt into it, saying, “Thus says the LORD: I have purified this water. Never again shall death or sterility come from it.” Ezekiel 16:4 says, “As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut; you were not washed with water or anointed; you were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in swaddling clothes.” Salt is still used as a preservative, and for cleansing, and blessed salt protects against evil.
Jesus told his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth,” and warned them not to lose their taste. Then he told them, “You are the light of the world.” In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah, on several occasions in Isaiah chapters 42 and49, describes Israel as being called by God to be a “light to the nations.” The light was also associated with the Temple. Based on Zechariah 14:7-8, Jews believed that in the end time, the Temple would be the continual source of light. During the Feast of Tabernacles, the Temple court was lit up twenty-four hours a day by a huge menorah. We can imagine that it would be a beautiful sight. Jewish tradition says there was no shadow in Jerusalem. The Gospel of John, chapter 7, begins with the Feast of Tabernacles. After this Feast, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” (8:12).
“A city built on a hill cannot be hidden” (5:14), Jerusalem was on Mount Zion. “Light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket,” it is visible and attracts others. The salt and light describe the divine mission. The role of disciples, Christians, is to bring out the best in others by leading them to Christ. In the first reading, Isaiah conveys the same message as Jesus did: that good works and acts of charity can be a light to others. By being salt and light, we enable others to see the way from the darkness of sin to the splendor of Heaven.
National Marriage Week, February 7-14: The second Sunday of February is World Marriage Day. As we celebrate National Marriage Week, it shows the fundamental importance of marriage and the family to the life of Christianity. The communion of persons: husband, wife, and child is an icon, and a reflection of the communion of Persons that is the Holy Trinity. Let us pray for our married couples, engaged couples, and families. Let us care for one another and build stronger families. Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy Marriage!!