You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world

In today's Gospel, St Matthew speaks of the role that Jesus' disciples must play in the world. Jesus uses two symbols: salt and light.

"You are the salt of the earth." Salt symbolizes purity. The ancient Romans said that salt is the purest commodity because it comes from the sea and the sun. Salt gives flavor. Without salt, the food has no taste, it is bland, useless. Admittedly, little salt is needed to make dinner tasty; And yet, without this small amount of salt, it loses its taste. Salt is also a preservative, protecting against spoilage.

True disciples of Jesus are the salt of the earth. They are few, and yet they have a huge impact. The "little flock," as Jesus calls them, pervades the whole world. However, salt can lose its taste. If the disciples of Jesus lose love for their Master, if they are disciples in the register only and not in the heart, their influence on the world will be negligible.

One of the sins of Jesus' disciples today is the sin of not living peacefully. We succumb to comfort, compromise, false contentment, or illusory peace. It is a Christian life without salt, without taste. Such life doesn't say anything. Such life doesn't impact anyone. It is timid,comfortable rather than provocative. Based only on human calculations and arrangements. But a Christian cannot be "harmless." Faith should be a virus that infects, not a vaccine that immunizes, neutralizes .

"You are the light of the world." A disciple of Jesus becomes light in the world when he/she first draws from the source of light. There are no two sources of light – Jesus on the one hand and the disciples on the other. There is only one Light of the World and the true source of light, Jesus. Jesus wants to "shine through his disciples" who continue his work in history. Hence, our task is to become so pure, so transparent, that Jesus can "shine through us."

In Eastern wisdom we can read: "When the lotus flower blooms, the bees voluntarily descend from all sides to collect honey." It's just about making the lotus bloom. It should be the same in our lives. If we allow it to flourish with the gifts of Jesus – goodness, kindness, love, mercy, wisdom, peace, hope, joy – then we will have nothing more to do. Others, like bees, will come to draw from us.

Do I give flavor to my life and the lives of the people I serve? Am I a witness of Jesus in the world? Or is my life slowly becoming useless, weathered, worthy of being thrown away and trampled on by people? Am I a light reflecting the True Light or am I focusing my attention on myself? What "flourishes" my life with?

A Christianity that is closed and directed only to the good of its followers would be a contradiction of Jesus words. The city on the mountain invites every wanderer to enter it, giving the hope of rest; Likewise, Christians, by the witness of their lives, should invite others to enter into a relationship with God so that they can experience His goodness and love. Just as light and salt, acting according to their characteristic, produce a concrete, predictable effect, so the disciple of Christ, accepting to the Gospel, must live it by bearing witness.

André Séve once said: I am light also when I speak the truth, no matter what it costs me. I am the light when I share with others the joyful peace I have received in prayer. I am the light when during the Holy Mass I fight distractions and mindless prayers, trying to "be present" in my thoughts, words, gestures. […] We become light when we are so permeated with faith that our movements are the movements of Jesus himself in us. We are light as much as we are Jesus ourselves.

Thought from Saint Faustina: Chosen souls are, in My hand, lights which I cast into the darkness of the world and with which I illumine it. As stars illumine the night, so chosen souls (6) illumine the earth. And the more perfect a soul is, the stronger and the more far-reaching is the light shed by it. It can be hidden and unknown, even to those closest to it, and yet its holiness is reflected in souls even to the most distant extremities of the world. (Diary 1601)

Until Tomorrow

fr. george