Salt and Light

Homily for Tuesday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel that we’ve just heard, Jesus tells us that we are called to be salt and light in the world. In other words, we are called to make the world a better place; we are called to bring others to a deeper experience of Jesus. 

Just as salt as a seasoning brings out the best flavors of things, we should strive to be the salt that brings out the best in others and in the world. We should strive to live a life of virtue and gently encourage others to do likewise. In the ancient world, salt was often used to draw out impurities and keep meats from decaying. When our words and our actions are “seasoned with salt,” it means that those things are pure and life-giving. It means that those things bring light into the world.

Light shines in the midst of darkness. It’s purpose is to illuminate truth, to bring clarity and understanding to the unknown. For us, we believe that Jesus is the primary “light of the world” (John 8:12); our lights are lit from His. As Christian disciples, we have the privilege of being the bearers of Christ’s light of truth and honesty in even the darkest situations – and that light is especially needed now. Our light is placed on a lampstand so that we are not light for ourselves but for the world. Our light brings Christ’s saving message to all people; it brings the message of the Gospel to the world.

So the question that we have to ask ourselves is, are we taking this invitation to be the salt and light of the world seriously? If we are not focusing on building people up through our words and actions, if we’re not constantly pointing others to Jesus, or if we’re not doing as good in those areas as we should be, then we should allow this to be an invitation to reexamine our commitment to discipleship. Let’s ask the Lord for guidance on how we can improve.

The Lord needs us to be the salt and light of the world now more than ever. How will we respond to that invitation today?