Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
She left to get it, and he called out after her, «Please bring along a bit of bread». She answered, «As the Lord, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die». Elijah said to her, «Do not be afraid. Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. For the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth’». She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and Elijah and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.
Know that the Lord does wonders for his faithful one; the Lord will hear me when I call upon him. Tremble, and sin not; reflect, upon your beds, in silence.
O Lord, let the light of your countenance shine upon us! You put gladness into my heart, more than when grain and wine abound.
“You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world”
Fr. Francesc PERARNAU i Cañellas (Girona, Spain)Today, St. Matthew reminds us of those words Jesus said regarding our mission as Christians: to be the salt and the light of the world. On the one hand, the salt is a necessary seasoning to make foods taste good: without salt, most dishes are almost worthless! Throughout centuries, on the other hand, salt has been a fundamental element to keep victuals from corruption. Jesus tells us: —You must be the salt of your world, and like the salt, you are to be tasty and avoid corruption.
In our time, many have lost the sense of life and claim it is not worth their while; that life is full of disappointments, difficulties and suffering; that it goes by very fast and that it has death, as a final perspective, and a sad one too.
“You are the salt of the earth!” (Mt 5:13). It is up to Christians to give flavor to life: by showing the joyful and serene optimism of he who recognizes himself as the son of God, for everything in our lives can be a path to sanctity; by making difficulties, suffering and pain help us to purify ourselves; and by realizing that, at the end of our lives, life in Glory —the eternal happiness— is waiting for us.
And, also as the salt does, Christ's disciples must preserve from corruption: where there are Christians with living faith, there cannot be injustice, violence, ill-treatment of the weak ones... Rather on the contrary, the virtue of Charity must shine in full force: worrying for others, solidarity, generosity...
And, thus, Christians are the light of the world (cf. Mt 5:14). A Christian is the torch that, with the example of his life, shows the path to Salvation, by bringing the light of truth everywhere in the world... Where, before, there was only darkness, uncertainty and doubts, now, there is light, certainty and self-confidence.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“Do not think that you are drawn on to ordinary conflicts, or that for some small matters you are to give account. ‘You are the salt of the earth.’” (Saint John Chrysostom)
“Here and now, the Lord’s disciples are called to live as a community which is the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of community!” (Francis)
“The People of God is marked by characteristics that clearly distinguish it from all other religious, ethnic, political, or cultural groups found in history (…). Its mission is to be salt of the earth and light of the world. This people is ‘a most sure seed of unity, hope, and salvation for the whole human race.’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nº 782)
