Today's readings lead us to a discussion of wisdom and light. We
begin with the Gospel of Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount, from which today’s
gospel reading is taken. Immediately after proclaiming the Beatitudes, Jesus
tells His disciples, You are the salt of
the earth. Salt of the earth. He wasn’t speaking
about that white stuff in a shaker on the table. He was speaking about wisdom. The
ancients associated salt with value. Slaves were often purchased for salt. The
expression, “He’s not worth his salt,” is based on this. When Jesus speaks
about salt, He is speaking about that which gives us value. That which gives us
value is that which we have received from God. That is wisdom. This wisdom,
this salt, is a new way of life, far different from the values of the world. We
refer to this different way of living, this radically different value system,
as the way of holiness. Ancient Christians used to refer to their following of
Christ as simply, “the way”[1].
The values of the world, are selfish and egotistical. “Life revolves around me,” the world
says. “Take care of number one,” the world teaches. But this pseudo wisdom,
this false wisdom, leads only to frustration, abandonment, and the fear, the
despair, that one’s life has been useless.
Sadly, there were people around her who professed faith, but
whose lives are empty, people who bought into the great lie and sacrificed
their wisdom. And if salt loses its
taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything.
We are surrounded by materialism. We can easily sacrifice the
wisdom we have been given, the Wisdom of Living for God, to the foolishness of
living for ourselves. What are your
goals in life? What are my goals? What are our definitions of “making
it.” Do we think that happiness
will come with the keys to an expensive car, a huge house, a beautiful boat? Do
we buy into the lie of materialism? No matter what we say, no matter how much
we speak about Jesus, if our real goals and ideals in life are material, our salt will be flat, our wisdom will be
non existent. But if our definition of “making it” is to grow ever closer
to the Lord in our lives, to celebrate His Presence in sacrificial love, and
for those of you in the sacrament of marriage, to have a family with God as its
center, to raise new members of His Kingdom, if this is what you mean by
“making it,” then you are very wise.
He who is unwilling to work should not eat, St.
Paul writes in the third chapter of his Second Letter to the Thessalonians. We
need to work hard to care for our families and our loved ones, but it is the
caring for others that matters, not the accumulating of possessions. The wisdom
of God, the salt that He gives, leads us to the truth that He is Lord of Lords,
King of Kings, and that everything worthwhile in life takes its meaning in relationship
to Him. The Truth of Jesus Christ
is the wisdom longed for by so many in the world
You are the light of the world, the Lord
says. Your light must shine before others
so they can see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. We have a
responsibility to others. We have been given the wisdom of God. We have a
responsibility to let them experience this wisdom. We need to care for others. People
in darkness are looking to the City of God, looking to us, to provide light. Share your bread with the hungry, shelter
the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not
turn your back on your own. Then
your light shall break forth like the dawn, we just heard in the first
reading from Isaiah. Our light should shine by caring for those who need
us. When we perform charitable
actions, we are beacons of the Light of Christ that has come into the world. We
have a responsibility to let others see this light, and through this light find
their way out of darkness and despair and into the way of love and fulfillment,
the way of holiness.
All people, everywhere, at all times, long for happiness. We
have been given Happiness. Our joy is in the Presence of the Lord. The more of
this happiness that we experience, the more of it that we want. Proximity to the Lord leads us to
desire an even greater sharing in His Love. This is a blessing. We have been
given the life of the Lord. No one has ever died both united to the Lord and
frustrated with his or her life. This Truth, this Happiness has been entrusted
to us for others. God does not want people to live in despair. He does not want
people to live in darkness. He has a beacon of light for them to find their way
out of darkness. We are that beacon.
We are the light of the world.
May we have the courage to allow our light to shine before
others so they can see our way of living, our good deeds, and glorify our
Heavenly Father ■
[1]
5th Sunday of Ordinary Time A; February 9, 2014. Readings: Isaiah 58:7-10;
Responsorial Psalm 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16.
