Bible Text: “You are the salt of the earth and light of the world” Matthew 5. 13- 16
Jesus has given us picturesque images of the mission and purpose of His followers. He described us as salt and light for the world. These vivid illustrations are something that is easy to understand because they are part of our daily life. Salt is always there in the food that we are eating on our tables every day. We taste and assimilate it. The light is the very first thing that wakes us up every morning and makes our day as it lingers all day long. They are easy to understand and yet very rich in meaning that they describe so much our life as Christians.
When Jesus Christ exhorts us that we are light and salt of the world it does not mean that they are inborn in us but our saltiness and radiance are gifts from the Lord. It is the Lord who makes us salt of the earth and light of the world. Saint Augustine once said, we are nothing without God and we are because of God. In other words, we are good because God poured our His goodness to us; He is the creator and we are just His creatures; He is Lord and we are just His followers.
The purpose of the salt is for flavouring. The food without salt is flat. Nobody will enjoy eating without the salt. It is just a pinch but it becomes game changer. The whole plate became pleasurable to eat. It is noteworthy that the salt is invisible once it is mixed with varieties of food stuffs but we only see the food prepared before us that tastes and smells good. This is precisely what Christian life is. We are called catalysts in our parish. The amount of greatness that we can contribute to our parish does not matter but it is our willingness to give something is what matters most. A Filipino saying goes “any small amount which is done frequently is a sure way to heaven”. When we give, we do not always expect to be appreciated and acknowledged just do it for the greater glory of God. In fact it is the very what Jesus is reminding us to do.
The purpose of light according to the gospel is that it reveals everything. We can see all things around us because of light. Jesus said, let us be light that they may see you good works. Our intention in doing good is not to impress people but we are just fulfilling God’s commandments. It is not the person that Jesus wanted to recognize but the work of the person so to speak. When people noticed what we are doing, we should not be boastful let us keep humble about it and stick to what Jesus said it is for the greater glory of God. Our purpose is not definitely self serving but for the good of the community and for God’s glorification and the God of glory will reward us in His time. Our talents, treasure and time that we can share to our community is not for competition but collaboration.