Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Light Is Its Own Proof: Salt And Light
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II: To show how great Elijah was as a prophet, the Elijah cycle in the book of Kings shows how he rewarded the widow by ensuring she did not suffer from a lack of food during the famine. Later he will restore her son to life.
Gospel: During the communist regime in Poland, only a dozen or so Catholic secondary schools for girls remained under the direction of religious sisters. They had to follow the state program without any religion. When asked whether there was still any sense in their work, a sister directress answered: “We stay with the girls, we are a presence among them. If we try to be good Christians, we automatically let the light shine. Light is its own proof. One has not to talk about it.” Her words echo those of Christ in the gospel. A Christian does not necessarily have to preach from a pulpit. Authentic Christian living is a proclamation all by itself.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your Son asks of every disciple
to be the salt and the light of the world.
Season our lives and words
with the salt of the gospel,
that all those who encounter us
may taste how good it is
to live in your love
and to work in joy and hope
towards a world and a heaven
of justice, peace and friendship.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
First Reading
After a while, the brook dried up because no rain had fallen on the land.
Then the Lord spoke to Elijah:
“Go to Zarephath of the Sidonites and stay there. I have given word to a widow there to give you food.”
So Elijah went to Zarephath. On reaching the town gate, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said: “Bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink.”
As she was going to bring it, he called after her and said: “Bring me also a piece of bread.”
She answered: “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread left, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am just now gathering some sticks so that I may go in and prepare something for myself and my son to eat—and die.”
Elijah then said to her: “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you have said. But first, make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son.
For this is the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be emptied nor shall the jug of oil fail, until the day when the Lord sends rain to the earth.”
So she did as Elijah told her, and from that day on, she had food for herself, Elijah, and her son.
The jar of flour was not emptied, nor did the jug of oil fail, following what the Lord had said through Elijah.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (7a) Lord, let your face shine on us.
When I call, answer me, O my just God,
you who relieve me when I am in distress;
Have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
Men of rank, how long will you be dull of heart?
Why do you love what is vain and seek after falsehood?
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear me when I call upon him.
Tremble, and sin not;
reflect, upon your beds, in silence.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart,
more than when grain and wine abound.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your light shine before others
That they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Salt and Light. Image of the Disciples: Salt and Light
You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It has become useless. It can only be thrown away, and people will trample on it.
You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden.
No one lights a lamp and then covers it; instead, it is placed on a lampstand where it provides light for everyone in the house.
In the same way, your light must shine before others so that they may see the good you do and praise your Father in heaven.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That in the Church there may be men and women today who show us something of the face of God by their of goodness and concern for the poor and the little people, we pray:
– That in our communities we may be like the salt that preserves among us a sense of service and commitment to one another, we pray:
– That we may not be blind to the needs of the poor and those suffering and help them carry their burdens, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
you give taste to our lives
through the bread and wine of your Son,
for they steep us in his love and faithfulness.
Do not allow us to lose our savor
but give it more vigor to use it to preserve in this world
the goodness and dedicated love
which you showed us in your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
the words spoken by your Son
have been a light on the path of life
and his body our source of renewal.
Do not allow us to hide the light
of his self-forgetting, faithful love
but let it shine in us,
that people may see in us
a reflection of his goodness
and give praise to you,
our God forever and ever.
Blessing
“I am the light of the world,” said Christ, and he says of us too: you are, you must be, the light of the world. Let your faith shine and inspire, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 5:13-16
Love is not love if it does not reach out and is not shared
Can pure salt lose its taste? In fact, it will not! But when we buy salt from the market, we may find the manufacturing and expiration dates on the package. The reason is that, during production and packaging, manufacturers also add chemicals for various reasons. If the product is not used within the time frame, chemical reactions may render it no longer edible.
In Jesus’ time in Palestine, salt could become contaminated with other substances that, over time, react with it and cause a chemical change, resulting in spoiled salt. Therefore, the point of Jesus may have been a word of caution to disciples, not to take their faith for granted. He had just proclaimed the promises of the Beatitude. But the disciples who are living in a corrupted and corrupting world must be on constant watchfulness and conversion to obtain the happiness of the Beatitude.
In this context of the blessings and happiness we reflected on yesterday, the example of salt losing its taste could well refer to the world's power to corrupt the disciples, leading them to doubt God's power to intervene in human history and bring about the promised happiness. If we lose hope in the certainty of the promises of the beatitude, we would, indeed, be no longer good for the purposes of God’s Kingdom.
We, disciples of Jesus, have a mission: to show in our lives, as individuals and as a community, the possibilities of the Kingdom. Like salt and light, the purpose of our life is “for others”. Inevitably, our behaviour would affect our world, our society, which is already sunk in corrupt ideologies, provided we do not lose our saltiness and become like the rest among whom we live. For better or for worse, like the town built on top of a hill, we would be noticed. The Christian community is not to confine itself but to become a beacon of hope for the corrupt world around it.
From the inevitability of being noticed, Jesus explains the opportunity and responsibility of the disciples. Discipleship is not a private privilege. It is a duty. Just as light is not light if it does not shine, so love is not love if it does not reach out, if it is not shared. Good works are not any additional job asked of us/ disciples of Jesus; instead, they are the practical expressions of God’s Kingdom.
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Matthew 5:13-16
Salt of the earth and light of the world
In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses a series of images to define the disciples and their mission. He shows them primarily as the salt of the earth (v. 13).
The rabbis of Israel used to say: “The Torah—the holy Law given by God to his people—is like salt and the world cannot live without salt.” Jesus applies this image to describe his disciples and creates a provocative statement. He does not deny that the sacred Scriptures are “salt of the earth,” but says if his disciples assimilate his word and be guided by the wisdom of the beatitudes, they too will be salt of the earth.
The image indicates that the disciples must bring to the world a wisdom capable of giving life flavour and meaning. Without the knowledge of the Gospel, our lives, joys and sorrows, smiles and tears, celebrations or mourning would be of no meaning.
Salt is also used to preserve food, to prevent it from becoming damaged. Jesus assigns us to be the salt of the earth: with our presence in the world, we are called upon to prevent corruption, not to allow humanity to be driven by wicked principles to rot and go into decay.
In a world where debauchery, hatred, violence, and oppression are regarded as normal, a Christian, as the salt, has the responsibility to add the flavour of Gospel values. In a world where the inviolability of human life from its beginning to its natural end is doubted, where abortion, killings, drugs and substance abuse destroy humanity, a disciple of Christ is salt who reminds us of the sacredness of life. Where sexuality, cohabitation, and adultery are trivialised, there the Christian is reminded of the holiness of God’s plan for marital love. Where one seeks one’s own advantage, the disciple is salt that preserves, always reminding everyone of the heroic proposal of Jesus for the gift of self.
The “parable” of the salt ends with a call to the disciples not to become “tasteless.” Jesus warns his disciples against the danger of losing their flavour. When we fail to add taste to the lives of people around us through our wrong witnessing, we make the Gospel lose its flavour.
The second function assigned to the disciples is that of being a city set on a hill and to be the light of the world.” Light is the first of God’s creation: “Let there be light!” Calling his disciples “light of the world” Jesus declares that the mission entrusted by God to Israel was now destined to continue through the disciples of Jesus.