Blog Post 2/06/2023 - Homily Cycle A 02/05/2024 – Offered at OLPH

 

Homily Cycle A 02/05/2024 – Offered at OLPH

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020523.cfm

 

We heard in Isaiah “…light shall break forth like the dawn….” & prayed in our Responsorial psalm the just are a light in the darkness.  Paul came “…in weakness & fear & much trembling” & St. Paul was one of the Church’s greatest saints and missionaries.  If he came in weakness, fear & trembling what can we expect to do?

One of my countryman Shamus O’Reilly went out one Saturday evening to his favorite pub and he had a few to many and stayed way to long.  Since he was very late, he decided to cut through the cemetery to save some time getting home. 

I was very dark, and he fell  into an open grave and spent the night there.   The next morning, he woke up and crawled up to the top of the grave.   It was a beautiful morning the sunlight glistening off the grass.  O’Reilly, exclaimed Praised be to God, it’s Resurrection Sunday and I am the first one up. 

Jesus challenge us to be His disciples to be His missionaries “salt” for the Kingdom & “light” for the world.  In Jesus’ time salt was a precious commodity; Jesus is telling you & me that we are precious.  Salt enhances the flavor & light illuminates.

To be salt, in the Spirit of Christ, is to bring out the best in the people we meet & to do that unobtrusively.  To be light, is to illuminate the presence of God in the midst of the darkness in our world.

Did you ever eat a handful of salt or drink a glass of ocean water? – [maybe a mouthful of ocean water while at the beach] but drinking a glass full of ocean or a handful of salt would be terrible.  Salt by itself does not taste particularly good – it might even make us sick; looking directly at the sun or into a bright, light bulb can damage to our eyes.  Salt and sun are valuable when they mix or blend, bringing out the fullness of others.  A little salt can bring out the natural flavor in every kind of food, from filet mignon to popcorn. [I prefer the filet].

The four ounces of salt in our bodies enable our muscles to contract, our blood to circulate, our hearts to beat.  Salt purifies & softens; cleans & preserves.  Light’s true beauty is realized when it illuminates.  Light enables us to see, to study, to discover, to behold the beauty of God’s creation.  Salt & Light are most effective when they draw little or no attention themselves.  In well-seasoned food the salt is not noticeable & in a well-lit room the lamps are not the focus.  [Adopted from Abiding Word, Barbara Reid, p.65]

So, it is with us as disciples we should focus our actions and words on giving Glory to God.  Jesus calls us to be salt & light for the earth, we can best do that by taking last week’s Gospel, The Beatitudes, and making them the foundation of how we live.  Jesus challenges us to make God’s presence known by the lives that we live. And we can do that by “Do all things in the name of God & you will do all things well. ”  [St. Francis deSales]

We are precious & that we have good in us because Jesus put it there, He gave us goodness so we can learn to love God and help others to do the same.  For a few minutes think about how you will be the Salt and light of Christ in the world.

May God Be Blessed!