Three weekends ago at our masses, we heard that Gospel
reading about Jesus coming to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy of being a “Light of
the World”. “The people who sat in
darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the shadow of death,
a light has dawned.” An image we can all relate too. In our Gospels, Jesus
is often referred to as the light, as the one who helps us see through the
darkness. When we speak of Jesus in this
way, it is not in the same sense as turning on the electric lights in our homes
or in our churches so that we can see to get around. Nor is it like the light of the sun that
rises in the morning to clear away the darkness so that we can get on with our
daily chores. Perhaps these are good analogies, but Jesus as the light speaks
to us in a different way. The light of
Christ certainly helps us to see through a darkness, but it is an inner darkness,
an inner blindness that we all experience from time to time. Through Christ’s light, we can see the world
in a new way, we can see life in a new way, and we can see others in a new
way. You might say that we begin to see
the world, life and others in a way that God Himself sees it. And paradoxically, we also begin to see the
mess we create when we ignore this light that Jesus offers. The dysfunction in our homes, the violence in
our communities, the wars and famine in our nations are now seen as signs of
the absence of Christ’s light. And we
suddenly are no longer comfortable with standing by and allowing these
atrocities to continue.
We are called to action, to address these areas of darkness
to the extent that it is possible for us.
Our Gospel this past weekend goes beyond announcing that only Jesus is the
light of the world. Jesus is proclaiming
to you and to me that we are also the light of the world. I would guess that what he is saying from
this is that we who are Christian, we who have had their eyes opened by
Christ’s light must become the bearers of that same light to others. We are meant to share that light, through our
actions, with those, who for whatever reason, are unable to see it. The whole purpose of this is so that the
lives of others and the actions of darkness may be changed as well.
In last weekend’s Gospel, Jesus tells us with great conviction: “Let your
light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory
to your Father in heaven.” Do not put it under a bushel basket, but put it on a
lampstand where it may shine for everyone in the house.”
In the same manner, Jesus is insisting that you are “the salt of the
earth”. What does that mean? We all know what salt is used for. When we
put a little salt on our food, we are highlighting and enhancing the flavour of
the food itself. This stimulates our
sense of taste and enjoyment of the food.
But Jesus is not speaking here about food. He is speaking
about something else.
During the weddings where I was the presider, I’ve often used this particular
Gospel reading. When couples are getting married, there love for each other is
so obvious, and the flavour of their relationship with each other is so evident
to everyone. So weddings are a good time
to remind the couple of the importance of retaining that flavour, that
saltiness in their relationship, to keep it alive and always in the forefront
of things. In other words, give it a priority and to work at it. Jesus came to reveal and share with us the
true flavour of life, to open up in us the capacity to taste the goodness of
His Grace and be transformed by it. As
Christians, we are, in turn called to share that flavour of Christ with those
around us. When Jesus calls us to be ‘the
salt of the earth’, He is inviting us to extend that flavour into all areas of our
life. In that way, the lives of others
who we encounter can also be awakened to that true flavour of a life of Grace
as well. But if we, as salt of the
earth, lose this flavour, then we become very ineffective tools for sharing the
joy of the Gospel or a life of Grace.
So what can we do to
keep that light of Christ shining brightly in our own lives. What can we do to retain our saltiness?
When I look back over the years of my own life, its not unusual to see that my
spiritual journey did not flow in a perfect, straight and consistent line. I
suspect that is true for all of us.
All those couples that I married in the past probably soon
discovered that the salty flavour that was so evident on their wedding day was not
always there, at least with the same intensity, in the years to come. Circumstances would arise, often beyond their
control, which would challenge their relationship.
Some time ago, when Mary Anne and I were on a retreat in Kentucky, the retreat
director spoke about it in this way. He told us that our spiritual journey is
more like a zig zag line where we often veer off centre. And he went on to compare it with the voyage
of one of those ancient tall ships of the past as they crossed the ocean
relying only on the sun and stars to guide them. They would start out with the
greatest of intention, but because of storms at sea, they would often be blown
of course until they realized a correction had to be made. And when they made this correction, they
would often over compensate, and then would have to back track. At times clouds or fog would block their
vision of the sun and stars, and they would go off course again. And perhaps at times, the person steering the
ship was just not paying attention, too much partying below deck, and they
would again lose their direction and have to back track. But through
persistence and patience, most ships would make the appropriate adjustments,
and eventually reach their destination.
He went on to explain that our spiritual lives are something like that as well.
We encounter storms that temporarily blow us off course and
leave us tossing about for a time. Perhaps a loss of a job, a death of a loved
one, an unwanted pregnancy, an unexpected illness. At times, we may become
inattentive, spending too much time on activities that were not healthy for us,
and later realizing that we needed to make some important changes. And at time,
perhaps the fog and confusion caused by inappropriate relationships or a
pursuit of things grab too much of our attention causing us to leave more important
priorities behind. But if during these times, we allow Jesus to be the light to
guide us, and we make the necessary corrections when needed, we can get our
lives back on track. But like the couple beginning a new marriage relationship,
we have to give this a priority. We have to work at it.
The tall ships that crossed the ocean that I spoke about earlier had guide
posts to help it in its journey. They had the stars at night, the sun by day, and
probably a basic compass to keep in as much as possible on track. In our spiritual
journey, we need guide posts as well.
Three things that I have found personally necessary in my
own life to help keep me on track are 1. Personal prayer, and I mean daily; 2. Sharing
time with other people of faith, most often by being a part of a small group
like this one; and 3. Attending church to be nourished by his word and by the
sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood. Without these three guide posts, I’m not
sure where I would be.
There’s a song we often sing in church, in fact we’ve sung
it during our group meetings here that, for me, speaks of this. It’s called Christ our Light: Longing for
light, we wait in darkness. Longing for
truth, we turn to you. Make us your own,
your holy people, light for the world to see. Christ be our light; Shine in our
hearts, Shine through the darkness. Christ
be our Light. Shine in your Church gathered today.” To be ‘light of the world’ and ‘salt of
the earth’, as Jesus tells us we are, we as individuals and as a society need to
acknowledge, and be willing to share with others what we ourselves have received.
Let us pray that this flavour, this joy of the Lord may be truly alive in all
of us.
