Being Salt and Light - Weekday Homily Video

 Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can say my little, office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?” then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire, and he said to him, “If you will, you can become all flames”.

There is also a quotation from John Piper which goes like this, "People don’t enjoy salt. They enjoy what is salted.” These two situations imply that it is not enough to live a pious life for ourselves, but we must strive to become a transformative power into people’s lives.  

Salt and Light

Jesus in today’s gospel uses the illustrations of salt and light to teach us about the responsibility of us Christians in this world. This gospel follows immediately from what was read yesterday, the beatitudes. Jesus is declaring that it is those who live by the values proclaimed in the beatitudes who are salt of the earth and light of the world. For Jesus, it is not enough to live a pious life which the Pharisees and Scribes latched on and claimed to be the righteous ones, rather it is equally important for followers of Jesus, to live by the values of the beatitudes if our life is to have an impact for good far beyond ourselves. The image of salt and light captures something of this impact for good.

• Salt and light have a powerful influence on changing or transforming situations. Salt purifies, preserves and penetrates, Jesus wanted his disciple to be salt; to purify, preserve and penetrate the world in a bid to build a new and truthful Kingdom of God.
• Light serves as a vital function, of enabling people to see and work in the dark and to avoid stumbling. In spiritual terms it’s an expression of the inner beauty, the truth and goodness of God. Jesus used this image of light to illustrate how his disciples are to live, they were to be light of truth and love, to become the light of Christ so that they could shine in the hearts of believers for them to see the new reality of God’s Kingdom

Being Gift Bearers

We too are being invited to be the salt and light of the world. Ours as Christians is to strive to become a positive influence on those around us. Through living the gospel values faithfully and truthfully, we enhance the lives of others. When we live by the beatitudes, the resultant good works, (mercy, compassion, justice, kindness and love) will be like a light in a dark world, showing people the way.

We know the light is put in a place where all can see, but Jesus’ is not about drawing attention to ourselves rather than, we, showing others how to live good and honest lives. We must act in ways that make the world brighter, like being truthful and fair, by doing good deeds and living rightly. In doing so, we influence and enhance the lives of those around us positively.

Like Abba Joseph, we must drop our pride and sense of entitlement by dying to ourselves, so that we can become flames of hope, justice, kindness, and compassion for those around us. We have to make a difference in people’s lives. People do not enjoy salt, but what is salted.

• Today’s Readings
  
  
• Father Fulgens’s inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center today. You can watch the entire Mass on the Family Rosary Video streams channel on YouTube.
  
  
• Join the Rosary (11:30 am ET) and Mass (Noon ET) livestreams on the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page, Monday – Friday. Invite your friends and family to pray with you as well.