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02-05-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Anthony Okolo, C.S.Sp, V.F.

In the ancient period and time of Jesus, salt was of a great value. It serves multiple purposes. It was used to purify things. When things like fruits and vegetables were sensed to be contaminated, salt was used to wash and purify it. The Romans said that salt was the purest of all things because it came from the purest of things, the sun and the sea. It was used for preservatives, thus, to keep meat from decaying salt was used to keep it fresh. However, the greatest and most obvious quality of salt is that salt lends flavor to things. We all know how insipid a food without salt tastes. Thus Jesus, very much aware of the great value of salt in His time, uses it to point to His followers what they are expected to be.

Therefore, when Jesus says in today’s Gospel, you are the salt of the earth, He is inviting us as His followers to have a certain antiseptic influence in the lives of the people we meet. He wants us to live our Christian lives in such a way that we preserve goodness in the world. He wants us to be agents of purification in our lives and the lives of people we encounter. He is also challenging us to add flavor to the lives of people we meet. Failure to be any of these in the society we live raises a serious question about our Christian life. That is to say, if we as Christians cannot be agents of positive change and influence in the society in which we live, what use is our Christianity? Life becomes tasty and full of flavor when it contains the salt of Jesus, His words, His loving kindness, His benevolence, His merciful forgiving, in a word His love. According to William Barclays “We are meant to be salt of the earth, and if we do not bring to life the purity, the antiseptic power, the radiance that we ought, then we invite disaster”.

Furthermore, Jesus says “you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” The first meaning of this claim is that a Christian is meant to be one who stands out positively. As light of the world, it means that our light should even been more visible in the ordinary activities of the world. Jesus by this invitation demands that we should be nothing less than what He is. Another characteristic of the light is that a light guides and directs us. That is why we obey the traffic light because it guides and directs us so that we do not collide with others while driving. In the same way a Christian is meant to be a guide that can lead people positively. As Christians who have the light and grace of God within us, we should be people who lead others to the truth. It means Christians must be good examples of people to follow. That is why Pope Paul VI said that people are ready to listen more to preachers who lead by example.

Then the next question for consideration is how we can be truly and concretely salt of the earth and light of the world. The answer is seen in the first reading of today from Isaiah the prophet when he says “Thus, says the Lord, share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked when you see them, then your light shall break forth like the dawn.” He goes on to say, “if you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; then light shall rise for you in the darkness and the gloom shall become for you like midday”. That is to say, quarrelsome, ill humored, unloving, hard hearted Christians cannot be salt and light of the world Jesus tells us to be today.

Fr. Tony Okolo C.S.Sp., V.F.