Dear Brothers and Sisters,
What a beautiful gospel we hear today. Jesus says you are called to be holy, to be a saint by your baptism. This doesn’t mean that you don’t sin, but your deeds of love and reconciliation make God present, they give glory to God. People who know us realize that we could not love or forgive in that way and so the only reasonable explanation is that He exists. And He is the one who makes this possible.
You are called to bring this light, the light of Christ everywhere. The eternal light is the love of God that a Christian carries everywhere and always. He brings the light and joy of Christ with him no matter where he goes.
When you give your life for others you are being salt. It only adds flavor when it dissolves. Jesus warns about the salt going bad or becoming insipid, which means foolish or sophomoric. When a Christian is no longer salt, he forgets who he is; his life has no meaning. He becomes stupid, foolish.
Salt is the most insignificant thing, but it’s noticed if it is missing. Jesus knows what he is doing, sometimes he throws a little or a lot. He knows how much salt is needed. He calls, he gathers, he knows how much is needed to flavor a parish or a family or an office. Salt is not for you, it is to be given away, to be dissolved.
This is the mission of a Christian – to be light of the world, what the soul is to the body, a Christian should be to the world. She has a unique mission. Why light a lamp and then hide it? Through your good works you give glory to God not to yourself, not with vanity. You can give light only because the light is Christ, not you. We are poor men. We carry this treasure in earthen vessels, not for our glory. God lights the lamp to show his love through us.
The word for lamp means a portable lamp. God needs you in this particular family, then in another, first in this town and then in another one, in this office, on this street. Be convinced that it is the Lord who is moving you around. Seeing our own sins is fundamental to this process. This is the only way to make you humble, to see I need to be saved; let the Lord shine through you!