Shall we be salt and light?

Homily Outline for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Some of you may have been at a recent Parish Leadership meeting that I regret being unable to attend. One reason I regret my absence is that some comment was made about my alleged impact on the priest food budget! Someone may have suggested that as the diocese currently pays my salary, and the parish my benefits, including the food allowance, it might be a better deal to switch!

Say what you want about my culinary habits, but the Holy Word of God seems to discuss food quite frequently! That’s not why I love God’s Word, but it doesn’t hurt. Today we Christians are told by our Lord to be the Salt of the Earth. We are to give flavor and savor to every place by our faith, hope, and love. As Catholics, we are to be the zip and pizazz in the world, intensifying all that is good. Is that how we live? Do we live up to that mandate?

Paul tells us that he came to Corinth proclaiming the mystery of God, knowing nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. Paul brought the Corinthians the TRUTH, without frills, a TRUTH that is compelling not because it is all dressed up, but simply because it is true. God came to save us Himself, He took on flesh and dwelt among us. He cast out demons, healed, and taught. He was imprisoned, beaten, judged, mocked, and killed on the Cross for our sins, and rose again in Glory, conquering Sin and Death. We are offered the fruits of this victory, a share in this resurrection at every Mass. We believe this and live this not because it is convenient, not because it is comfortable. As Paul says in another place, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, we are the greatest of fools. This is true, and because it is true, it can and should transform our lives.

When we ARE transformed by this, then we give flavor and savor to the world! When we are transformed by Christ, we fulfill Isaiah’s description of light breaking forth: we share our bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked, and turn away from no one. Like the dawn, the light of Christ’s truth shows forth the beauty of faith, hope, and love, and wounds are healed.

Sunrise this past fall from Mt. Marquette

 It is true that we live in a land where there is still plenty of hunger and nakedness, but it is also a land of prosperity, a land where the immense majority of people live in physical comfort incomprehensible in any other time and place. In any given day many of us may meet very few people who are starving physically, but there is still starvation all around us. What are most people in our land starving for? Precisely the truth Paul proclaims – the love and healing that Christ offers. As we respond in a real way to physical poverty, may we not neglect or ignore the much greater and more universal spiritual poverty into which our country is rapidly descending.

Spiritual poverty is especially found wherever lies and deceit become commonplace. For instance, “Just do what feels good.” Or, “If you acquire enough things your heart will be at peace.” Or, “Who knows if God exists, there are more important things to deal with.” Or, “Religion is just an opinion, we can’t really know what’s true.” These are shadows that are to be found all around us, this is the absence of salt that cause the good things of this life to be tasteless in the mouths of so many of our brothers and sisters.

So, this evening, let’s look into our hearts and see what’s there… Do we know Jesus and Him crucified? Do we listen to the prompting our consciences, formed in the light of Christ and His Church? Do we turn to the Lord in prayer every single day? Do we build our lives around Truth, or around convenience and comfort and expediency? No one here, and I put myself at the head of the line, have yet been fully conformed to the fire of truth and love that is Christ’s heart. But from right where we are at this moment, we are invited forward in the mystery and adventure of conversion. Jesus calls you and me to be salt and light, however improbable that might be! He doesn’t call us because we’re perfect, He calls us because He’s perfect, and He loves us perfectly! We are all beggars before the Lord, however much or little may be in our bank accounts or in our garages! Precisely as beggars we are able to respond to this call with joy.

The world around us needs flavor and savor and light to pierce the shadows and dullness of falsehood and un-loveliness. Jesus pierced these shadows and sharpened dullness into joy. In just moments we will be offered His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. May we offer to the Lord on this altar our hearts and lives. As we receive from this altar this MOST PRECIOUS EUCHARIST, may we be disposed and willing to be transformed into Salt and Light for a world that need us desperately!