Salt of the Earth and Light to the World

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Salt  of  the Earth and Light to the World

Il-Ħames Ħadd matul is-Sena

Melħ ta' l-Art u Dawl tad-Dinja

Messalin A pp. 272 

Reading 1                              

ISaiah 58:7-10

Thus says the LORD: Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni

Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 58, 7-10

Dan jgħid il-Mulej: "Mhux dan is-sawm li jien rrid li taqsam ħobżok ma' min hu bil-ġuħ, u ddaħħal f'darek lill-imsejken bla saqaf? Mhux li tlibbes lil min tara għarwien, u n-nies ta' darek ma tinsihomx? Imbagħad ifeġġ  bħaż-żerniq id-dawl tiegħek, u malajr tagħlaqlek il-ġerħa tiegħek. Quddiemek  timxi l-ġustizzja tiegħek, u l-glorja tal-Mulej timxi warajk. Jekk biss issejjaħlu, iwieġeb il-Mulej: jekk  għajjatlu, jgħidlek: "Hawn jien!" Jekk tneħħi minn nofsok il-moħqrija, ma tmiddx subgħek u ma tagħmilx deni bi lsienek, jekk int qalbek toħroġ għall-imġewwaħ, u xxabba' qalb l-imnikket, imbagħad id-dawl tiegħek ifiġġ fid-dlam, u s-swied tiegħek ikun bħan-nofsinhar. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                            

PS 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Light shines through the darkness for the upright;

he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.                           
R/ (4a) The just man is a light in darkness to the upright. 

He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.             

R/ (4a) The just man is a light in darkness to the upright. 

His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
His justice shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.                                 

R/ (4a) The just man is a light in darkness to the upright. 

Salm Responsorjali                                                              

Salm 111(112)

Dawl fid-dlam ifeġġ għat-tajbin

twajjeb u ħanin il-bniedem sewwa.

Tajjeb il-bniedem li jħenn u jislef,

li jmexxi ħwejġu bir-reqqa.                               

R/    Dawl fid-dlam ifeġġ għat-tajbin

Għax il-bniedem ġust qatt ma jitfixkel;

għal dejjem tibqa' t-tifkira tiegħu.

Xejn ma jibża' minn aħbar ħażina;

qalbu qawwija bit-tama tal-Mulej.                      

R/    Dawl fid-dlam ifeġġ għat-tajbin

Qalbu qawwija, m'għandux mniex jibża'/

Iqassam u  jagħti lill-foqra;

għal dejjem tibqa' l-ġustizzja tiegħu;

rasu merfugħa bil-ġieħ.                         

R/    Dawl fid-dlam ifeġġ għat-tajbin

Reading 2                                

1 CORinthians 2:1-5

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with  sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni

Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra ta' San Pawl lill-Korintin 2, 1-5

Meta jiena wasalt għandkom, ħuti,  ma ġejtx inħabbrilkom  il-Misteru ta' Alla bi  kliem kbir jew għaref.  Ma ppretendejtx li kont naf xi ħaġa  fostkom, ħlief lil Ġesu' Kristu,  u lil dan imsallab. Jiena ġejt għandkom dgħajjef, imbeżża' u mriegħed. Il-kelma u l-predikazzjoni tiegħi ma Linux  Imlibbsa bil-kliem qawwi ta' l-għerf,  imma bil-wiri ta' l-Ispirtu u l-qawwa, sabiex il-fidi tagħkom  tinbena mhux fuq l-għerf tal-bniedem,  imma fuq il-qawwa ta' Alla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

                         

Gospel                                   

MatThew 5:13-16

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth.  But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

L-Evanġelju

Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San Mattew 5, 13-16

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Intom il-melħ ta' l-art.  Imma jekk il-melħ jaqta',  biex jerġa' jieħu t-togħma? Ma jibqa' tajjeb għal xejn iżjed ħlief biex jintrema barra u jintrifes min-nies. Intom id-dawl tad-dinja.  Belt li tkun qiegħda fuq muntanja ma tistax tinħeba. Anqas  ma jixegħlu l-musbieħ u jqegħduh taħt is-siegħ,  iżda fuq l-imnara, u hekk idawwal lil kull min ikun fid-dar. Hekk għandu jiddi d-dawl tagħkom quddiem il-bniedem, biex jaraw l-għemejjel tajba tagħkom u jagħtu glorja lil Missierkom li hu fis-smewwiet." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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Commentary

How to be Salt and Light in the World Today

Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

Jesus of Nazareth was a master teacher and a great storyteller. I can easily picture him teaching and preaching to his young friends as they sat on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, on hillsides, in deserted places or in the temple precincts in Jerusalem.  He incorporated everything around him in his teaching and preaching and he models for us a tremendous artistry of the human condition and of God’s created world. 

These qualities of Jesus are clearly evident in this Sunday’s Gospel- the continuation of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel [5:13-16].  Jesus invites us once again to be the salt and the light of the world. In the ancient biblical world, salt was a precious commodity.  It gave flavour and zest to food; it served as an important preservative; salt also made people thirst for something more.  Jesus wanted his disciples to give flavour and zest to the world through his teaching; to preserve the truth as he proclaimed it to the world; to make the world thirst for more.

In the memorable sermon on the Galilean hillside, Jesus also transfers his light to those who follow him: “You are the light of the world.” Jesus is the light of the world.  Jesus calls us to be that same light because it has the characteristic of dispelling darkness, of warming all it reaches, of exalting forms.  All this is done with the greatest speed.  Being the light of the world means for Christians, spreading everywhere the light that comes from on high. It means fighting darkness due to evil and sin and often caused by ignorance, prejudice and selfishness. The more we look on the face of Jesus, like an impressionist painting, the more light we see and the more we are transfigured by it.

Your light shall break forth like the dawn

Sunday’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah [58:7-10] reminds us that merely external worship does not avail with God; it must be joined to internal sincerity.  Isaiah tells us the kind of fast that the Lord expects from us.  He encourages his listeners to 'do away with the yoke, the clenched fist, the wicked word', and to do it by 'sharing your bread with the hungry and clothing the man you see to be naked'.  When you do these things, then “light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.”

There may be many reasons why, at times, we choose the way of the clenched fist rather than the open hand: hurt and disappointment, tiredness and indifference, fear and misunderstanding, selfishness and disdain.  Whatever the reasons, the clenched fist always involves turning from our own kin and denying, in effect, that others are of the same kin. The open hand, however, means turning towards others as our kin, fellow human beings, brothers and sisters, children of the same heavenly Father sharing a common call to become the people of the Beatitudes.

By their deeds the disciples are to influence the world for good. They can no more escape notice than a city set on a mountain. If they fail in good works, they are as useless as flavorless salt or as a lamp whose light is concealed.  By inviting us to be “light,” Jesus invites us to make him present in the world.  Just as the presence of salt and light cannot be hidden and their absence will be noticed, the kindness of the good person cannot be denied.  The good works of the open-handed shine forth so that people might praise the Father for the holiness they glimpse in His creatures.

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