When we read the morning paper or watch the evening news, the experience can be discouraging. What confronts us is often the worst of humanity: images of death, destruction and chaos.
Our first instinct is to complain, to wish it were not so; to say we live in a sick world. Yet we must remember that Jesus lived in a world that was no less broken. In fact, it may have been worse than our own.
Government was harsh and oppressive. Human rights were virtually nonexistent. Slavery was accepted as normal. And entertainment was not a Super Bowl or a World Series, but gladiators fighting to the death. As a poet once wrote, “Those were crude and cruel days, and human flesh was cheap.”
If we have reason to lament the condition of our world, Jesus had even more. And yet, He never did.
Instead of dwelling on the problem, Jesus focused on the solution. Part of that solution was the small group gathered around Him in today’s Gospel, to whom He boldly declares: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.”
It must have stunned them. They likely never thought of themselves that way. They had not caused the world’s sickness – and surely felt powerless to cure it. But Jesus saw them differently. He saw them as essential to God’s healing work. The same is true for us.
Jesus tells us today that we are meant to be distinct. We are not to hide our light, but to let it shine. If the world is a ship tossed in darkness, then we are called to be the lighthouse.
This does not mean Christians are better than others. It is not a matter of value, but of vocation. Still, this sense of distinction can be difficult to accept. In a world that prizes blending in, Jesus calls us to stand apart.
Many are content with being average, thinking as everyone else thinks, or letting the media do the thinking for them. But Jesus calls His followers not to conform, but to lead. We are the Church, and we are meant to shape the world, not be shaped by it.
When Jesus speaks of salt and light, He is not elevating us above others; He is calling us to be different. To follow Christ means we cannot simply go along with the crowd.
So how are we different? Isaiah gives us the answer in today’s first reading: “Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked.”
The source of this difference is invisible, but its fruits are clear. The source is faith; the fruit is love. Faith cannot be seen, but its impact can – whenever we care for those in need, check on an isolated neighbor, listen to a struggling friend, or offer practical help with compassion.
Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God. And in loving God, we naturally learn to love our neighbor. To claim love for God without love for others is like trying to irrigate a field without water.
So, Jesus urges us: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.”
My friends, let your light shine. Be the salt of the earth. Dare to be different.
