Commentary on the Gospel of
Read: Isaiah challenges his readers to put their faith into practice so that they can bring light and hope to their communities. Paul reminds the Corinthians that his mission and preaching are not about worldly wisdom but are based in humility and the cross. Matthew continues the Sermon on the Mount with Jesus calling his followers to glorify God by their lives.
Reflect: What does it mean t live as a person of faith? Today’s readings provide answers to that question. Being a person of faith is not simply an intellectual assent to a series of theological claims. Faith changes the way we live. It requires that we step beyond our selfish concerns and care for those in need. People of faith seek righteousness, not power. Any power we do have is merely a reflection of God’s power.
Righteous living helps people directly by meeting their needs, but also by manifesting God’s goodness to them. The light they share brings clarity and warmth to those trapped in the cold and darkness. The shining example of the righteous draws people to God.
Pray: Father, give me the grace I need to share the light of my faith with the people I meet.
Act: Fast from food or a small pleasure and contribute to those who are hungry.
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You are the salt of the world
The light of our faith, when we give it, is not extinguished but strengthened, but it can diminish if we do not nourish it with love and works of charity. The Gospel passage, in fact, tells us that, as disciples of Christ, we are also the "salt of the earth" (v. 13), and so the mission of Christians in society is to give "flavor" to life with the faith and love that Christ has given us.
In the Beatitudes, and especially in the last of them, which announces the persecution that his disciples will suffer, Jesus proclaims the profound meaning of life to his followers: to be salt and light in a dull and lost world. Jesus compares and defines his followers with the metaphor of light and salt: "You are the light of the world... you are the salt of the earth..." (Mt 5:13-14) These words are addressed to each and every one of us. But what do we do to put them into practice? Pope St. John Paul II said: "The world needs witnesses more than teachers" and, if he prefers a teacher, it is because, at the same time, he is a witness. The only valid light and salt are the testimonies of life, the good works, however simple they may be; at first they may be surprised, even laughed at, but the light of good example is seen by all.
The testimony of the disciples, their light, their taste, give witness to the whole world. the words of Jesus that urge us to be salt of the earth and light of the world force us to ask ourselves important questions.
Are we Christians, as individuals and as members of the church, good news to anyone? Do we believers put something into our world that gives flavor to life? Are we salt and light by witnessing to our faith or, on the contrary, are we ashamed if we say we are Christians?
The witness of each believer is not enough, it is the whole Christian community that must show the humanizing and transforming power of faith in God, so we cannot go it alone, we must join together, because in unity there is strength.
When in the Gospel, lived by today's Christians, they find only a total indifference, it means that something serious has happened: the new ideologies have taken away the torch, the light, men who do not have Christ as a reference point.
Prayer: Lord, may your light never depart from our face. May we be salt for our brothers and sisters.
"HAPPY SUNDAY TO ALL".
