FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
5 FEBRUARY 2017
The
words of Isaiah are addressed to his people who have returned from their exile
in Babylon. In rebuilding their city and
temple, they are recovering their lost religious traditions. They have returned to the practice of
fasting. The prophet makes it clear that
abstaining from food for religious purposes must find its expression in
action. Real fasting, he says, needs to
be seen in sharing bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and
homeless, and not turning their backs on family members with whom they are
alienated. If their fasting is manifested
in these actions, they will be like a light shining in the darkness.
Jesus gives
his disciples a similar message. In last
Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus had told his disciples how they can be blessed, or
happy. He had told them that happy people
show forth the mercy of God. Merciful
people are happy, because they hunger and thirst for righteousness (a right
relationship with God). Merciful people
are happy, because they keep their hearts clean and ready for God. Merciful people are happy, because they use
peaceful means to settle disputes. Merciful
people are happy in counterintuitive ways.
The poor in spirit are happy, because they do not rely on wealth for salvation. Those who mourn are ultimately happy, because
they know that chasing after pleasure does not satisfy. Meek people are happy, because they do not
rely on power to make them feel important.
Even persecuted people can be happy, because they are detached from
honor and are not obsessed with what others think of them.
Jesus
speaks of these people being blessed by referring to them in the third
person. However, then he turns to his
disciples and says that you will be
blessed when they insult and persecute you because of me. In other words, you who embrace these
beatitudes will run into opposition from those who think that wealth, pleasure,
power, and honor are the most important objects in life. But the world needs disciples who live the
beatitudes, because those disciples become salt and light for the world.
In the
ancient world, salt was critical for survival.
Cities were built near sources of water and deposits of salt. The word “salary” comes from the amount of
salt given to each Roman soldier.
Without refrigeration in a hot climate, salt preserved meat and
fish. Salt was used to purify people,
conquered lands, and sacrifices. Salt
was also given to guests as a sign of hospitality. Faithful disciples of Jesus Christ are
critical for the survival of the world.
Faithful disciples preserve his message.
When we live the beatitudes, our actions purify those elements of the
culture that are contrary to the Gospel.
In offering hospitality to those strangers who come to us, we offer the
welcome of Jesus Christ.
Light was
also critical in the ancient world.
Without electricity, even the smallest oil lamp or a single campfire
could draw people to safety. That is why
the prophet Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem being a light to the nations. Set on Mount Zion, travelers at night could
clearly see the city as they approached it.
Those who live the beatitudes allow the light of Jesus Christ to shine
through them and draw people to trust him and his saving works.
When Jesus
uses the word “you,” he uses it in the plural.
Each of us has been called to be a disciple through the waters of
baptism. We are salt and light more
effectively when we live the beatitudes as a community. We may be showing forth our communal faith in
a very visible way as we prepare to dedicate our new church. But we cannot lose sight of the more important
ways in which we are salt and light:
when we share our bread with the hungry, when we shelter the oppressed
and the homeless, when we clothe the naked, and when we open our arms to
welcome back family members who have been alienated.
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