Through Christ we are the salt and the light of this world....

« Sunday, February 9, 2020 »

 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 73

Il-Ħames Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena

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.

 

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

Dan jgħid il-Mulej:“Mhux dan is-sawm li jiena 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 tgħajjatlu, 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    PSALM 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. 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. 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. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.

Salm Responsorjali    Salm 111 (112), 4-5.6-7.8a.9 

R/. (4a): Dawl fid-dlam ifeġġ għat-tajbin

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/.

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/.

Qalbu qawwija, m’għandux mniex jibża’.

Iqassam u jagħti lill-foqra;

għal dejjem tibqa’ l-ġustizzja tiegħu;

rasu merfugħa bil-ġieħ. R/.

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.

Qari II       mill-Ewwel Ittra ta’ San Pawl Appostlu 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 Ġesù Kristu, u lil dan imsallab. Jiena ġejt għandkom dgħajjef, imbażża’ u mriegħed. Il-kelma u l-predikazzjoni tiegħi ma kinux imlibbsa bil-kliem qawwi tal-għerf, imma bil-wiri tal-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.”

Evanġelju   Qari skond San Mattew 5, 13-16

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Intom il-melħ tal-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-bnedmin, biex jaraw l-għemejjel tajba tagħkom u jagħtu glorja lil Missierkom li hu fis-smewwiet”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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A reflection by  Archbishop Francesco Follo

The salt of the earth and the light of the world is Jesus and we with Him.

In this Sunday’s Gospel Christ says to his disciples of all time: “You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world” (Mt 5, 13 and 14). With these words Jesus does not invite us to strive to become salt and light, but reveals to us what we are. He does not tell us what we must do, he reminds us of what we are already: salt and light. Of course, after the being comes the action and, therefore, we must become aware that we are like the salt that preserves and gives flavor. We have the task of giving new “flavor” to the world and to preserve it from corruption in the same way the light illuminates giving security and heat. We can do it with the wisdom of God that fully shines on the face of the Son because He is the “true light that enlightens every man” (Jn 1,9).

In saying: “You are the salt of the earth” Jesus tells us that the human nature, corrupted by sin, has become tasteless but, through our ministry of witness, the grace of the Holy Spirit will regenerate and preserve the world. For this reason the Savior teaches us the virtues of the Beatitudes that are the most necessary, the most effective for us who want to be like him. Those who are meek, humble, merciful, and just do not keep inside the good works that they have done, but take care that these works are sources for the good of others. Those who have a pure heart, those who are peacemakers, and those suffering persecution for the truth are the ones who devote their life to the good of all. If we dissolve like salt, we give flavor to the life of the world and build a culture of life and a civilization of love.

In saying: “You are the light of the world,” Christ teaches us that we, united with him, can spread, in the midst of the darkness of indifference and selfishness ,the light of love of God, true wisdom that gives meaning to the existence and the acting of men. To the teaching that we are light Jesus immediately adds these words: “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.” (Mt 5, 15-16).

Works of light.

If it is true that in the friendly light of the Christians all men find Christ, light of life and perfect truth, it is also true that we are light not so much with doctrine or words but above all with the works that our light shines in world.  To do this we need no particular skills, we need to “preach” by our works. There would not be unbelievers, if we were Christians as we should.

St. Francis de Sales said: “Do not speak of God to those who don’t ask. But live so that, sooner or later, they will ask. “ 

It is just so:  our works are the ones that rekindle the demand and persuade. In this way we will be salt of the earth and light of the world. In this way we will be true missionaries without saying a word. Pope Francis teaches: “All of us who are baptized, are disciples and missionaries and we are called to become a living Gospel in the world. With a holy life we will give ‘flavor’ to different environments and we will defend them from corruption, as salt does and we will bring the light of Christ through the witness of genuine charity.”

For those, however, who are called to preach with words, a law is required: to put into practice what they preach to others. It is inevitable that the preaching is not accepted when it is not followed by the example. St. John Chrysostom said: “The pupils observe the conduct of the masters and, if they see that they too are subject to the same defects, or even worse, how could they admire Christianity?” And he added: “When I seek in you the signs to recognize you as a Christian, I find quite opposite signs. If I wanted to judge who you are from the places you go, the corrupt people with whom you are, the words that are not serious and useful, I would say that nothing remains for me to recognize you as a Christian.” Rightly, St. Francis de Sales asked: “What difference exists between the Gospel and the life of a saint?” Then he answered “It is the same difference that there is between a symphony written, and a symphony performed”. It is so: in the life of a saint, or at least in that of a fervent Christian, we learn how to put into practice the Gospel. We all, in addition, must strive to be this “symphony performed” for all the brothers and the sisters that we meet on our way.

We are called to be salt of the earth and light of the world doing good works. At this point you may be wondering of which good works Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel. For good works we must only think of the works of mercy that must never be lacking, but also of all the individual virtues. To be concrete, I will recall briefly which are the virtues and which the capital vices. First of all, the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, and the cardinal: justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance. But we must not ignore the virtues that are found in the Beatitudes: patience, purity, humility, meekness, simplicity and poverty of spirit. It is worth mentioning the capital vices, which are seven: pride, sloth, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and avarice. Every time we let us be taken by these vices, we give a counter-witness and drive away our neighbor from the Truth. If, on the contrary, we will practice the virtues and we will do good works, we will be the light that illuminates and the salt that gives flavor.

The important thing is that we do not stop at the surface of ourselves, but we go to the secret cell of our heart, where are a handful of salt and a spark of light. By living according to the Gospel let that spark turn on the lamp and our light shine in our good works.

Let’s do this with humility, knowing that the salt of the earth and the light of the world is Jesus. We will be light and salt if – thanks to a good life –   we will talk about Him and as little as possible about ourselves.    ///////