9 February 2020 - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Matthew 5:13-20

The short homily that I preached at my parish for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time was in conjunction with the Catholic Service Appeal.  Below is a modified homily that I preached that Sunday at the Carmelite monastery that Sunday:  

       Today, on the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, a few week before we start the holy season of Lent, we hear a part of the Sermon on the Mount in our Gospel today, as Jesus describes what we should strive toward in our life of discipleship.  According to Jesus, we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. As disciples of Christ, we are to bring flavor and light to the world around us. 

Such images are probably very familiar to us as followers of Christ.  Jesus calls us to be a light in the darkness of our world.  He calls us to change the flavor of our world, to bring a perspective of faith no matter where we are in our lives. 

What is interesting to me, is that both light and salt have a couple of similar characteristic - they don't exist for themselves and they don’t draw attention to themselves. We add salt to something like French fries to enhance the flavor of the food.  The salt is not the main food that we are eating.  And we put on a light in order to see something else.  So, if we are a light in the world, we are to be that light so that it will lead others to Jesus. As Christians, we are to shine as a light not so that others will see us, by that they we see a path to the Lord.  We are salt of the earth, so that the values of our faith that we bring to the world will add flavor and will make the world a better place.  

Today, throughout our Diocese, we are having our Catholic Service Appeal, which is an important way for us to fund our Diocese and to fund Catholic Charities.  I think this is a wonderful Gospel to have today for our Catholic Service Appeal.  The theme and image used for the CSA this year is our Blessed Mother Mary: Our Spirit Rejoices.  I think how Mary said yes to the will of God when the angel appeared to her to announce the upcoming birth of Jesus.  Mary, out of her free will, said yes to the Lord.  At that moment, Mary became the first disciple and a model of faith for all of us.  But you also see in this image of Mary that was done by Jill Strickland of St Richard an image without a face. The artist wants us to look into Mary and to see the face of the people we serve through our different ministries.  

         Through the Catholic Service Appeal this year, we can indeed be a light in the world.  We can indeed be the salt of the earth. Our contributions to the CSA strengthens those who turn to Catholic Charities in our Diocese in their time of need.  It reaches out to form leaders in our Diocese who will help our children, youth, and adults grow in their faith.  It helps educate future priests and care for retired priests.  Our Catholic Service Appeal last year actually helped fund the project of purchasing new heating and cooling units for the Carmelite monastery here.  

   I love how we can use the images of today’s Gospel to think about how we can be a light in the world and how we can be salt of the earth.  May we follow that call as disciples of Christ.