Salt and Light

Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time—A

Isaiah 58:7-10
1Corinthians:2:1-5
Matthew 5:13-16

God’s presence and power shine most brightly through human weakness. Cases in point: Sarah, Moses, Hannah, David, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, Augustine, Francis, Ignatius of Loyola, Thérèse of Lisieux, Mother Teresa, and many, many more throughout the course of salvation history.

When we are weak—not insincere or arrogant weakness, but truthful, humble weakness—then we are strong. Weakest—and strongest—of all is Christ, God made man, crucified as a common criminal as he saves us from our sins and defeats death.

With a true awareness of who we are before God, our light breaks through the darkness like the dawn; like a glowing, mountainside city in a dark countryside; like a lamp lit to illuminate a shadowy room, or like a stained glass window in a church. Human frailty does not prevent us from drawing closer to God. Rather, when it is freely acknowledged, it becomes the seasoning of our redemption, purifying and preserving us in the name of God.

When the light of the Gospel shines through our shortcomings, failures, and faults, we come to know that our faith rests not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

This is what it means to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.