11 June 2024 - Tuesday of the 10th week in O.T.
Ac 11, 21b-26 ; 13, 1-3 -- Matthew 5:13-16
Homily
When Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, he is not inviting us to be proud, congratulating ourselves on being the ‘chosen ones’. On the contrary, he entrusts us with a mission - and a very demanding one. He invites us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, not so much through our teaching of wisdom as through our witness.
We are perhaps a little too fond of the idea of being the light of the world, so that the world can look at us and admire us! So let's pay a little more attention to the other image used by Jesus, that of the salt of the earth! There are at least two things we can say about salt: The first is that very little salt is needed in food. A little salt makes food taste good; too much salt spoils it. And it is to this element, as to the leaven in the dough, that Jesus compares the Reign of God. For the Church, for Christians in general, being a humble and small presence in the life of humanity is a normal situation. All the grand, showy, pompous and noisy demonstrations of the Church's presence as a powerful and influential reality have little to do with the Gospel. And, precisely, the second characteristic of salt is that it dissolves in the rest of the food and acts in an imperceptible way. This is how salt works in the dough of humanity. Father Christian de Chergé, from the monastery of Tibhirine, used to say that he wanted to be a grain of salt in the soil and people of Algeria. His wish was fulfilled.
We are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world by translating Jesus' message of love into our everyday lives, with the people around us. The Bread of Life that we will receive at the Lord's Table is what gives us the power and strength to be faithful to such a mission.
Armand Veilleux