Readings: Is 58:7-10; Ps 128:1-5; 1 Cor 2:1-5; Mt 5:13-16
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I remember, as a child, hearing my father once describe a friend of our family as "the salt of the earth." At the time I had no idea what my father meant. But I knew, by the way he said it, that it was a compliment. Years later, when our friend died quite suddenly, I recalled my father's words; and thinking about this man's life, I came to understand how fitting a description it was.
He had his own successful accounting business, and although he was both intelligent and capable, he seemed to have few worldly ambitions. He rejected any suggestion of expanding his business, for that would keep him from doing more important things. He was certainly not poor, but he lived simply.
He and his wife raised their three children to love God and neighbor, and to reject the rampant materialism that has consumed so many in our society. They spent most of their free time, and much of their money, helping others, few of whom shared their faith. A neighbor would lose his job, and the next morning would find a plain envelope containing $200 in his mailbox. That was a lot of money back in the 50s and would often see a family through a month or more of hard times.
When you were with him, no matter your age, he gave you his complete attention, and you knew that he truly cared about you and what you were saying. That was a unique experience for most children.
And his calmness. I can never recall his getting angry, or even raising his voice. People would say amazingly stupid things in his presence, and he would just smile. Oh, he would stand up for his beliefs and never backed away from the give and take of a good argument. But he always argued lovingly and with a sense of humor. An argument with him never turned into a quarrel. I came to realize that he simply loved people, for to him, every person was a beautiful creation of God; and so, every person was to be honored and loved.
"The salt of the earth…" [Mt 5:13] He took the gift of life that God had given him and seasoned that life and the lives of others with another gift, the gift of faith. His was an active faith, for He spent his life putting into practice the Word of God in today's first reading from Isaiah:
"If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech, if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday" [Is 58:9-10].You see, our friend was a Jew who took the Word of God very seriously. "I'm just one of God's workers," he used to say. Even though he wasn't a Christian, as a believing Jew, he knew that God's workers must do God's work. But what is God's work?
Well, Jesus answered that question when He told us:
"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" [Jn 6:29]I suppose, then, the question for us Catholics today is, how do we put this faith of ours into practice? How do we respond to the gifts we have received, the gifts of life and faith, both given freely by God. Life doesn’t belong to us, because it doesn't come from us. It comes from God, Who gives life out of love. And so, it carries with it certain obligations: to love the Giver and to respect the lives of others.
In the Creed, which we will pray together just moments from now, we give the Holy Spirit a title: “the Lord and Giver of Life.” Yes, indeed, God is the giver, the only giver of life, His gift of love. This is core reason why abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia are all inherently evil. By rejecting the gift of life, such acts reject the very love of God. And so, they reject God Himself, the Lord and Giver of life.
In the same way, we mustn’t assume that the gift of faith is in any way our doing. As St. Paul tells us in the 2nd reading, our faith doesn't "rest on human wisdom but on the power of God" [1 Cor 2:5].
Jesus calls us, as receivers of that gift, to be the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world."
In today's Gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus spoke, not just to the apostles, for this was the Sermon on the Mount. No, He spoke to the entire crowd that had assembled. Jesus spoke to all of us; and He tells us that...
"your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father" [Mt 5:16].In other words, simply being a believer isn't enough. We must put our faith into action. Or, as St. James reminds us, "faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead [Jas 2:17]. And when the light of our faith doesn't shine forth, when we hide it -- as Jesus put it -- "under a bushel basket" [Mt 5:15], then our faith is dead.
As you listen to these words, you might be thinking, Hey, I'm no missionary, and I'm certainly no evangelist. I'm just an average person, who probably does as many bad things as good. And I'm definitely not the salt of the earth or the light of the world.
Well, listen again to what St. Paul tells the Corinthians in today's 2nd reading.
"I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom…" [1 Cor 2:3-4]You see, Paul was both ill and depressed. He knew he wasn't very impressive to look at, and he knew he didn't preach particularly well. He had arrived in Corinth after a not very successful visit to Athens, and no doubt felt both weak and incompetent. And yet, through this very realization of his weakness, Paul saw the truth: that the Holy Spirit's presence shines forth with blinding brightness within the humiliating context of our weakness. In other words, the power of God is magnified by our weakness.
Paul had once thought much more off himself. Earlier in his life, as Saul, the Pharisee and the persecutor of Christians, he had been so strong, so sure of himself, and so completely wrong. Now, as Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, he possesses the truth, but at the same time he sees himself for what he truly is, a weak man with open hands and a vulnerable heart. You see, Paul, through his conversion, had learned humility; he had come to the realization of who he really was with respect to and in the presence of our God.
But it’s always through our weakness that God manifests His power. Just as Mary, a teenaged Jewish girl from a poor family in the forgettable village of Nazareth, could say, “My soul magnifies the Lord…” [Lk 1:46] Yes indeed, just like Mary, through our weakness God’s greatness will shine forth for all the world to see.
You see, brothers and sisters, Jesus has placed His gospel in our weak hands and its proclamation depends on us. This message, the Good News of Jesus Christ, can be seen and heard only when we put it into practice in our lives, in our relationships with others…when we share God’s Presence. It’s a Presence that begins right here with the Eucharist and continues as we leave this church today filled with the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.
And remember, God's presence in you and me shines forth in the most ordinary things:
In the selfless love one finds in a truly Christian home.
In the patience and kindness displayed by those who care for the elderly, the sick, the dying, the imprisoned.
In hundreds of simple acts of service to others, acts that enable Christ to be known, so that His light, His glory, will shine through you for all to see…always for His glory, not ours.
God used St. Paul, in his weakness, to begin the conversion of a godless empire. In the same way, God will use you and me, in our weakness, to convert a troubled and sinful world…if only we will let him.
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