Agents of change in the world

Homily for 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Isa 58:7-10 • 1 Cor 2:1-5 • Matthew 5:13-16

Introduction

A little over two weeks ago, we experienced very cold weather in New Orleans with roads having to be closed due to snow and ice.  In fact, some said, “Hell has frozen over.”  I then learned that the Transportation Department was using salt to remove the ice from the roads.  Apparently through some chemical reaction the salt not only melts the ice, but also it keeps the water from freezing further.

Scripture and Theology

Jesus was probably not thinking about using salt in this way when he told his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth.”  He was probably thinking of the other more common uses of salt as an antiseptic, a preservative and seasoning.

·        In the absence of modern medicine, salt is the best antiseptic; for it kills germs.  In ancient times, people cleaned chicken with salt to prevent salmonella.  Salt was also the only thing available to clean a wound; in fact even when I was growing up, my mother used it on me, despite my loud screams.  But today I gargle with salt to cure my sore-throat.

·        Secondly, salt is a preservative.  Again in the absence of fridges and freezers, the only way to preserve meat or fish was to salt or smoke them.  Salt draws out the moisture and decomposition does not take place.

·        The third use of salt is as seasoning.  Salt brings out the flavour in food.  For people without the wealth of spices that we have here in New Orleans, unless they add salt, the food is very insipid and bland, as anyone on a salt-free diet would testify.

And so, with this image Jesus tells his followers to have these qualities of salt:

·        Antiseptic, as they fight evil in the world.

·        Preservative, as they safeguard the good from corruption.

·        Seasoning, as they add zest and joy to the world.

·        And I might add, like salt de-ices the roads, Christians might be good thawing agents, defusing tensions in the world.

But Jesus is not satisfied just with the image of salt; he also uses the image of light, telling his followers: “You are the light of the world.”  At the time of Jesus having light, especially at night could not be taken for granted.  Homes in ancient Palestine, like homes in most pre-industrial societies, generally had one room with no windows and only a door.  When the door was closed, the house would be pitch black.  The only light source was a small oil lamp.  The only way the lamp would illuminate the whole room was if it was placed on a stand or ledge above everybody’s head, to avoid anybody blocking the light.  Without light, nobody could do anything productive: no guests, no reading, no socialising, no work, perhaps only sleeping.

And so Jesus is calling on his followers once again to be the source of light and warmth to the world.  He tells them: “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

Christian Life

Although we live in different times, times in which doctors tell us to eat less salt and times in which we take having light for granted, these images of salt and light can still speak to us today.  Being the salt of the earth and light of the world means being agents of good in the world.  We Christians are tasked with turning this world into the Kingdom of God.  This is the world which God created and wants to restore to himself. He has hired us Christians, to bring this about.

There is a hesitation among some Christians, to do this, to speak up, to stand up and be counted.  Sometimes this is because we Christians have been told to shut up, that we have no business bringing religion into the public square.  And sometimes we choose to be quiet, since we don’t want to rattle the cages, make waves, rain on the parade with our Christian faith.

But what Jesus is asking us to do is not rattle the cages, make waves or rain on anyone’s parade.  In fact Christians who speak up or act in this way indeed need to shut up.  You have probably heard about the Christian group that has made it their business to protest military funerals.  You probably also remember the Christian pastor in Florida whose view of Christian evangelization is burning the Muslim holy book, the Koran.  That is not what Jesus means when he says you are the salt of the earth.  Rather, apart from the very exceptional cases, we can be the salt of the earth with charity and civility, rather than with confrontation and conflict.  That is like when I cooked last week and put too much salt in the food, making it inedible and having to throw it out.  I learnt that salt does its job best when it is mixed entirely in the food in the right amount: not too little to leave the food bland and not too much to cause my guests a heart-attack right there at table.

Some people also think that when Jesus says “you are the salt of the earth,” he means that they have to wear religion on their sleeve.  They think it means that you have to flaunt your devotion, with ostentatious displays of piety, religious objects, or severe penitential exercises, like salt sprinkled on salad rather than thoroughly mixed in the food.

But when Jesus asks us to be like a city set on a hilltop, he is not asking us show off our devotion, but rather to be witnesses and good examples, a beacon drawing others into our community of faith.  We do not need to speak or say much; our lives alone should draw people to us, because they see the peace and tranquillity that comes from being a firm believer in the Lord.  We should stand out in the crowd, not because we are showing off, but because our ordinary, day-to-day Christian life shines forth for others to see.

The reason I became a priest was probably not because a priest suggested it to me, but rather because I saw and admired many good priests whose lives reflected the light of Christ.  Perhaps the reason people become Christians is also because of our good example.  Ghandi is quoted as saying that he liked Christ, but did not like Christians, because they did not live as Christ taught.

With so much bad publicity of the Church in the world, some of it rightly deserved, perhaps it is time for Christians to step up to the plate and be the city built on the hilltop for the world to see.  Perhaps rather than put up billboards that threaten hell-fire, our right-living should be the advertisement for the faith.  At the height of the sex-abuse scandal by priests I made a conscious decision to always be dressed as a priest wherever I went, as my small way of being a light for the world.  And I soon found out that whether I was in Walgreens picking up some Aspirin or in Winn-Dixie buying a bottle of port wine, people were always pleased to see a priest and often stopped me to speak about their lives and their faith.

An even more effective way to be the salt of the earth and light of the world is what Isaiah tells us to do in the first reading.

Share your bread with the hungry,

shelter the oppressed and the homeless;

clothe the naked when you see them,

and do not turn your back on your own.

Conclusion

Did you notice the last one?  It said: “Do not turn your back on your own”: family, friends, co-workers and neighbours.  They too need our witness.  May our good deeds be a far more eloquent sermon than the words of the best preacher; and may they make us the salt of the earth and the light of the world.