Ash Wednesday (A)

 

LENTEN SEASON (A)

Ash Wednesday [Mt 6:1-6.16-18]

18.02.2026

Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting with a Difference

Readings: (1) Joel 2:12-18 (2) 2 Cor 5:20-6:2

1.    Theme in brief

Right motive and attitudes for Lenten observances

2.    Focus Statement

Our Lenten observances should be done for right motives that give glory to God, and not for self-glory or for attracting people’s attention and getting a merit certificate from God.

3.    Explanation of the text

In today’s gospel Jesus speaks about three religious practices found in all religions, namely, almsgiving, prayer and fasting.  He approves and advocates these practices, but with a difference. He criticizes the manner in which they are practiced by pious Jews (mainly the Pharisees) of his time and points out their wrong motives. He attaches three prescriptions to be followed by his disciples while practicing these deeds of piety: (1) the type of behaviour they should avoid; (2) the proper motive or attitude they should observe; and (3) the type of reward they should look for.

While teaching about the conduct to be shunned, Jesus repeats the word “hypocrisy” three times to stress the need to avoid showiness in performimg each of these pious acts (6:2,5,16). [A hypocrite is an actor in life’s drama, who pretends to be what he/she is not in real life.] Instead of practicing these deeds like actors in a pious drama, these deeds should be done to give glory to God and not to be seen and praised by others (6:1-2); that is, not for self-glory or to earn public reputation. They are only means to achieve an end – an expression of our inner attitudes and motives. They are not to be practiced to attract people’s attention (6:1,3,6,17) or to get a merit certificate from God. Jesus’ instruction to shut the door of one’s room and pray privately or secretly (6:6) does not mean we should not pray in common or publicly. What it means is that prayer should not be done with other ulterior motives than for glorifying God and entering into a deeper communion with him. Here Jesus points out how self-centeredness can be the motive for even the best of religious practices. If they are done for personal glory rather than for God’s, they lose their real meaning or purpose.

While speaking about the reward for such practices, Jesus contrasts between the shortsighted earthly reward and the everlasting heavenly reward. The former is earned through recognition, admiration and reputation among the public and the latter is an eternal reward of heavenly bliss given by the Father. In human society, the one who gives alms earns the reputation of being generous, the one who prays regularly in public places of being a devout person and the one who fasts rigorously of being an ascetic. In contrast, the Father who sees everything in secret, looks into people’s hearts, and rewards them by judging the inner motives behind these deeds (6:4,618). Since those who make a public display of these deeds already receive their reward here on earth in terms of a high reputation, honour and name, there is no further scope for any other reward in the age to come.

4.    Application to life 

Today we enter into a 40-day period of inner purification called the holy Season of Lent. For many Catholics, Lent means just giving up meat on Fridays and attending the Way of the Cross on that day. They also very well understand that Lent is a period of penance for their sins by focusing on Christ’s passion. Though this is true and noble, the primary purposes of Lent are less emphasized and less understood by many Catholics: (1) It is a time of preparation for Easter or the Lord’s Passover. Just as the Lord Jesus passed (crossed) over from death to eternal life at his resurrection, this is a period set apart for us to pass over from all sinful, selfish, ungodly and worldly ways to new (holy) life on Easter day by following the three paths outlined by Jesus in today’s gospel, namely of charity, ardent prayer and penance. (2) It is a time for renewal of our baptismal grace and commitment. At baptism (which was our first Easter) we crossed over from sin to a new or holy life, or in St. Paul’s metaphor ‘died’ with Christ and ‘rose’ with him. But we have soiled our baptismal purity by our sins and by not “believing in the gospel” of Christ. This is what the priest says while imposing ash on the head: “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). “Believing in the gospel” means living or following the way of life laid down for us in the gospel of Christ. Repentance means changing our mind and returning the the gospel way of life, if we have drifted away from it. So Lent is a period set apart for us to turn away from sins and come back to the Lord and to his gospel. In St. Paul’s metaphor it is a time to ‘die’ to our sinful/ selfish ways and ‘rise’ to a new/ holy life as we complete fourty days of penance on Easter day.

How? In today’s gospel text Jesus lays down three Lenten observances as aids to renew our baptismal commitment, namely, almsgiving, prayer and fasting. He gives a new meaning to these traditional practices, which is different from what many pious people of his time as well as in our own times understand. These practices are to be external expressions of genuine repentance and conversion. They are means to reach the goal of renewing our baptismal call. This renewal needs to be done by coming close to God and a determination to give up evil practices and sins. We have to examine our inner motives and dispositions and ask ourselves if these observances will lead us to a renewal of our baptismal call – the aim of Lent – and make us committed disciples.

The first Lenten observance of almsgiving must be broadly understood to include all charitable deeds and sharing of our goods with the needy as well as solidarity with those whom we have excluded from our schemes. It is an expression of our gratitude to what God has given us out of his bounty and our responsibility to share something of that with the have-nots. The second one, namely prayer should proceed from our genuine love of God, and lead to a deeper communion with him flowing into more committed service to our neighbours. The third one, namely fasting includes all acts of penance and abstinence. Lenten abstinence from meat, alcohol, smoking, etc., is to be practiced for spiritual benefits and not purely for health reasons like lowering one’s cholesterol or preventing cancer. Nor penance should be done for its own sake, or just for experiencing a good deal of pain by giving up something dear to us without using it as a means to change of hearts. Fasting and acts of penance need to be signs of our genuine repentance - a turning away from evil and turning back to God. When done with pure motive, they can lead us to an inner disposition for repentance and sorrows for our sins. They are aids for “dying to sin and rising with new life” when we shall celebrate EASTER.

Let us enumerate some of the spiritual motives for fasting and abstinence:

(1) It is a means to humble ourselves before God and is an expression of mourning for our sins and wrongdoing. It is meant to make us realize the harm inflicted on ourselves and others by our own sins and to seek the path of conversion. (2) It is an aid to prayer. It is up to us to use it for reflecting on our hunger for God as we feel physical hunger. (3) It reminds us to feel the pain and agony of so many people in the world who go hungry due to their poverty, and the suffering of those who are seriously ill or are victims of natural calamities, or experience injustice, etc. (4) It reminds us of the need to do our bit for the alleviation of suffering and misery in the world, by spending a bit of our money/ time/ energy/ expertise for this cause. (5) It is a form of self-discipline and self-control we want to practice by giving up a pleasurable thing. When we freely choose to impose discipline on ourselves for a greater cause or a higher good without any external force, we shall look as if we are going for a feast when we actually are fasting. This could be one of the applications of Jesus’ saying: “When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face” (6:17). (6) It teaches us to manage without things we are so used to, such as food, drink and modern comforts. Before motor vehicles, electricity and mobile phones came into existence people knew how to manage their affairs. Now, can we manage without electricity or mobile phone for an hour without making a fuss or becoming restless? One of the penances in Lent could be to switch off or not to take the mobile phone to the church/ chapel, or during the common meal (at least at supper).

“Abstinence” means refraining from eating any type of meat as an act of self-denial and penance. Many Catholics voluntarily  abstain not only from meat but also from fish, eggs, smoking, drinking, dancing, etc. But according to the signs of the times, besides these, we can also do more creative types of fasting and penance during this Lent: (1) walking to the railway station or bus stand if it is within a km instead of going by our vehicle or hired vehicle for the noble cause of protecting our environment from further degradation; (2) saving energy and water by limiting their usage or resisting their unnecessary wastage; (3) resisting the desire to get glued to the mobile phone all the time and using it for fun-calls and needless talk like, “What did you cook for dinner”; (4) donating money for charitable/ worthy causes secretly without any desire for display of one’s name on the notice board/ on marble stone or mention of it in church announcements. We need to reflect and see whether we would have donated any money for that good cause if our names were not announced or displayed anywhere. Since Jesus asks us to purify our motives and check whether they are genuine, why not give it a try and move from common practice of the general public.

The best penance we can do in Lent is to practice in a visible manner the traditional works of mercy. They are divided into two categories: (1) The Corporal Works of Mercy : to feed the hungry; to give drink to the thirsty; to clothe the naked; to shelter the homeless; to visit the sick; to visit the prisoners; to bury the dead. This traditional list of corporal works of mercy adopted from Mt 25:35-36) is not exhaustive and not to be taken only in its literal sense. We can practice these works of mercy in other ways – by not wasting food; sending a portion of our food (not leftover food) to an orphanage; making drinking water available to passers-by or distributing it during a public function; sharing our space with others ( e.g. with workers for taking a break in between their work, or for students for their studies/ coaching class); donating blood to the sick; visiting a home for the aged with small gifts; visiting the sick in homes or in hospitals; giving material help to the family of prisoners (especially when breadwinners are imprisoned); visiting the bereaved families and local cemetery to pray for the repose of those who are buried there.

 (2) The Spiritual Works of Mercy are these: to instruct the ignorant; to counsel the doubtful; to admonish sinners; to bear wrongs patiently; to forgive offences willingly; to comfort the afflicted; to pray for the living and the dead. We can practice these works of mercy in other ways – by sharing our faith-convictions with those who have doubts of faith; accompanying a relative or neighbour who is undergoing mental or physical pain to a retreat/ healing/ prayer/ counseling centre; refraining  from gossiping about others in their absence; explaining the truth of our faith to somebody as we understand it; inviting neighbours to attend a group Mass; volunteering to teach catechism in the parish; admonishing somebody who has gone astray from Christian path and showing the way to turn back to God; forgiving or asking pardon from somebody with whom we have stopped talking for a long time or doing a charitable deed for that person or his family; praying to be patient with those who are unbearable; praying for the persons against whom we have grudges; etc.

In this Lent we could try to choose and practice any one of the corporal works of mercy and/or spiritual works of mercy.

 

5.    Response to God's Word

Do we do Lenten observances with above-mentioned motives? Or do we do them only to follow a custom or gain merit here and hereafter? Do we use them as means to improve our Christian commitment? Are we self-centred even in our religious practices? Are we going to follow the path of giving and sharing, praying more, sacrificing and renouncing with the motive of self-renewal and better Christian commitment throughout this Lenten Season? Which of the above-mentioned creative ways of fasting we would like to observe?

6.    A prayer

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness; in your compassion blot out my offence. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. A pure heart create for me, O God; put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence; nor deprive me of your Holy Spirit. Do not despise my broken and contrite heart and restore to me the joy of your salvation. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)

 

Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) [Mt 5:17-37]

15.02.2026

Jesus’ New Law about Anger, Adultery, Divorce and Oaths

Readings: (1) Sir 15:15-20 (2) 1 Cor 2:6-10

1.    Theme in brief

Greater righteousness of a Christian disciple

2.    Focus Statement

Jesus calls us to live a life of greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees, in areas of human relationships, sexual behaviour, marital fidelity and truthfulness.

3.    Explanation of the text

In today’s gospel, Jesus says that he has not come to “abolish” the Old Testament Law but to “fulfil” it (5:17). The word “fulfil” means “to bring to its intended meaning” or to fill up what is lacking in it or to complete it. He neither contradicts nor replaces nor erases the Law. On the contrary, he gives it a new interpretation or meaning; or he intensifies, internalizes and radicalizes it. He focuses not only on external evil acts like murder, adultery, etc., but also on the internal attitudes and motives that lead to those acts. Thus he asks his listeners to undertake an internal and reverse journey in their minds from the act of murder to harbouring of anger or resentment, and from the act of adultery to harbouring of lust in their hearts.

Today’s gospel text shows how Jesus fulfils the Law that forbids murder, adultery, divorce and false swearing by going beyond the understanding it had in Judaism, or by deepening and radicalizing it. In other words, he fulfils the Law by extending/enlarging it beyond its letter to its spirit touching upon the inner attitudes of humans. He does it by repeatedly contrasting the narrow understanding of the OT (“You have heard it was said….,” 5:21,27,31,33) with his new and broader interpretation (“but I say to you….,”5:22,28,32,34). Biblical scholars call these statements that radicalize the OT teachings ‘antitheses’ (opposite) to OT ‘theses’ (teachings). In today’s gospel we find the following antitheses: An extension of the OT law that forbids (1) murder to include all sorts of anger, resentment and revenge (5:21-22); (2) adultery to include all lustful desires (5:27-28); (3) divorce to include life-long fidelity of the spouses to each other (5:31-32); and (4) false swearing to exclude all oaths altogether (5:33-36). Thus he teaches his disciples to address human tendency to nurse anger or resentment in the heart, honour one’s matrimonial promises and follow a path of absolute honesty and integrity.

By following this new meaning given to the Law, Jesus wants his disciples to live a life of righteousness or holiness that “exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees” (5:20) in above-mentioned four areas. For him, anger already carries murder in the form of a germ. He wants his disciples to strike at the very root of murder which is in their tendency to nurse anger, hatred, resentment, aggressiveness, insult, revenge and all sorts of violent behaviour against others. According to him, a sort of killing is done by heart-piercing words, abusive language and name-calling. Calling our brothers and sisters ‘You fool’ (5:22) may not sound highly abusive in our culture; but in the Bible it means invoking a divine curse on our brothers/sisters.

Jesus advocates a remedy to hatred, resentment and vengeance – cultivating a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation (5:24). He says that any genuine worship or “offering our gifts at the altar” must be sustained by reconciliation of broken relationships with your brothers and sisters, if it has to be acceptable to the Lord (5:23-24). He says that the need of coming to terms with one’s opponent and taking concrete steps towards reconciliation are urgent before the matter further deteriorates and finally leads to a disaster like murder. He compares it to coming to terms with your accuser while still on the way to the court so that the judge may not throw you into prison (5:25).

Similarly, Jesus asks his disciples to strike at the root of committing adultery which can be traced to entertaining lustful desires in one’s heart; of divorce which is in marital infidelity. Further, he teaches that oaths and swearing are totally unnecessary and unwarranted if there is a general atmosphere of trust and honesty. They come into the picture because of human tendencies of lying, untruthfulness and dishonesty.

4.    Application to life

In today’s gospel, which is a part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we get a glimpse of the attitudes, intentions and motives a disciple needs to imbibe. He teaches us that we cannot be counted as citizens of a new society he had come to establish (called the Kingdom of Heaven or God) if we are content with only external observance of the Law like the Pharisees and fail to change or purify their inner (sinful) attitudes which are the roots of all evil actions. Whereas the Pharisees and scribes speak about fruits (evil actions), Jesus wants his disciples to strike at the roots, found in their hearts from which evil actions proceed.

Here Jesus proposes a new way of life that goes beyond the teachings of the OT, and a new righteousness that exceeds the one practiced by the scribes and Pharisees in the OT. He neither abolishes the Law, nor keeps it as it is. Thus he upholds the principle of a continuity of the old with a change, that is, with a new meaning added to it. He seeks to radicalize it by broadening and deepening its meaning. Thus he fulfils or fills up the missing meaning in it or completes it. For Jesus, LOVE is the supreme law and all other laws should be subordinated to it. According to him salvation is not guaranteed by mere external observance of law but by making love as our guiding principle in human relationships and keeping the spirit of the law instead of only the letter. The greater righteousness advocated by him under God’s Kingdom goes beyond external observation to include a change of attitudes and heart, and a purification of inner motives.

Among the four OT laws radicalized by Jesus in today’s gospel – namely, murder, adultery, divorce and oaths – let us take the first one: “You shall not murder”. According to him, just avoiding murder is not enough. Anger is the root of murder. When we overcome or master anger, murder or any violence becomes impossible. Neither ‘murder’ is done by knives, guns and terrorists’ bombs alone nor is violence present only in the bomb or in the killer’s gun. Rather. it is deeply rooted human heart. The fruits are seen when we nurse resentment and revenge against our offenders which goes for days, months and sometimes for years. According to Jesus the spirit of this fifth commandment goes much deeper than external act of murder – transformation of a bitter and vengeful heart in which it is rooted. The evil roots must be tackled (uprooted) so that the evil fruits will not emerge. We observe an atmosphere of all-prevailing violence in our society that causes a real threat to human life. Because of its omnipresence, experts speak of a culture of violence existing in our world today. Here the term ‘culture’ refers to attitudes and behaviour which accept violence as inevitable to solve human and social problems without considering its terrible consequences. In the midst of such an attitude, Jesus invites us to create a culture of active non-violence which is life-promoting. His teaching motivates us to take active steps to overcome violent tendencies within us and in our communities, instead of merely feeling sad about it.

We can do it in various ways, such as (1) by consciously cultivating non-violent language in our speech; (2) by following the path of non-aggressive behaviour in our personal lives; (3) by cooperating with so many good willed people in our world who promote non-violence; and (4) by promoting non-violent language and behaviour among children. I am shocked to hear about a video game played by children in their mobile phone: If you shoot down your neighbour’s dog you gain 50 points; if you shoot down your neighbour 100 points and if you shoot down your parents 200 points. See, how the culture of violence is subtly injected into the tender minds of children! Listen to the vulgar, abusive and violent language used by some people, including children – much worse than the words “You fool” used in today’s gospel (5:22). Think of the name-calling done on people of a different race or ethnic group in any society, and the domestic violence perpetrated against women and domestic helps. Our everyday language is full of violent words such as “bash”, “bang”, “smash”, “thrash”, etc. Many of us say: “So and so should be thoroughly hammered…. Shoot/ kick/ thrash him/her….”, etc. Often we approve and laugh over such language of spitting poison of bitterness when we hear others speaking against those who have wronged them. Children imitate it from their parents and companions.

When we read about the first murder recorded in the Bible – in the story of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-16) – we come to know how Cain’s envy and anger towards his brother Abel ended up in hatred and cold-blooded murder. We have to admit that there is a Cain sitting inside of each one of us who broods over the wrong done by others, imagines and plans terrible things against those who have wronged or offended us. This Cain is nothing else but our own mind that gives in to aggressive and violent behaviour against our brothers and sisters. This story makes us deeply aware that there is something of the wild beast in all of us lurking at the door, but we must “master it” as the Bible says (Gen 4:7). If violence which is inherent in human nature is not contained or mastered, it will create havoc in human/social relationships and contribute to the all-prevailing culture of violence. Like Cain we too try to cover-up our guilt and refuse to accept responsibility for our violent behaviour by saying: "Am I my brother's keeper (Gen 4:9)?" God’s voice is clear to us: “Are you not responsible for your brothers and sisters? Are you not answerable to your God and society for the prevailing culture of violence in the world?”

Anger and resentment have roots in our rational nature. Rationally we brood over the injury or harm done, or hurt caused to us by evildoers/ adversaries and demand satisfaction for it. Violent and aggressive behaviour in words and deeds is a common means of dealing with injured pride. But the fact is, even after evildoers get their punishment, including imprisonment or capital punishment – as it happens in some serious court cases – people’s anger, hatred and revenge does not end. Let us take Jesus’ example. While undergoing the agony of crucifixion, Jesus made an excuse for the evil action of his crucifiers below the cross by praying for them to his Father with the words that they did not know what they were doing (Lk 23:34). Though they knew that they were crucifying an innocent man, he made an excuse for their action. Moved by this example, can we also admit our ignorance of the motives, background and emotional state of our offenders? We really do not know why so and so behaved with us in such a nasty manner, or was rude to us. Jesus lays down the principle of compassion for the weakness of such people which leads to forgiveness from the heart.

Jesus further instructs us to cultivate a spirit of forgiveness of and reconciliation with those who have offended us as well as those whom we have offended (5:23-26). This, according to him, is an indispensable precondition for Christian praise and worship. Worship of God cannot be performed by an impure heart infected with resentment, bitterness and revenge. He wants that true worship of the heart must be sustained by brotherly/sisterly love and reconciliation. He gives the example of an accused man taking step to reconcile with his accuser while on the way to the court (5:25-26), to emphasize the point that the offended party should take the first step towards reconciliation rather than the offender.

It is easier to offer sacrifices and attend religious services than to forgive an offender from one’s heart; is it not? It is easier to avoid committing an act of murder than removing anger, resentment, hatred and bitterness from the heart; is it not? Heart of hearts many of us are happy that we have never committed murder and adultery; hence are righteous or holy before God. But today’s gospel asks those of us who consider ourselves righteous and “spiritual-minded” to answer this question: “Have you not ‘murdered’ the good reputation of your opponents/ offenders/ adversaries through defamation, slander, character assassination and using abusive language against them? By spitting venom against them and going after their blood, have you not ‘murdered’ them in your heart? How many people have you stabbed, not in the front but in the back?”

Harbouring hatred is also serious enough because murder is conceived by hatred.  There are people who nurse so much hatred in the heart that they would have preferred to murder their opponents or enemies. But they refrain from doing so because of fear of punishment (from God or from the court of law), social stigma and losing social respectability.  Hatred and crying for vengeance is like committing murder in one’s heart. Does Jesus’ teaching that we should reconcile with our opponents and enemies before we begin to worship God or offer our gifts on the altar make any church-goer return half the way? Of course, we need not take it literally. But Jesus asks us to examine how many times and how often we have offered our gifts on the altar with all resentment, vengeance, enmity and hatred in our heart.

Again, what is the use if we pat ourselves on the back saying that we have never committed adultery, but continue to lust after other men or women, and become slaves to cyber-sex or pornography in the media especially in the internet?

5.    Response to God's Word

Do our religious practices influence our inner attitudes and motives? Do we nurse resentment and revenge against our offenders and refuse to talk with them for days, months and sometimes for years? Do we feel we too are directly or indirectly responsible for the prevailing culture of violence in the world? What steps we would like to take to promote a culture of active non-violence? Is our worship sustained by brotherly/sisterly love and reconciliation?

6.    A prayer

Purify our hearts and inner attitudes, O Lord. Teach us the language of love and the need to cultivate diligently non-violent and non-aggressive communication. Give us courage and humility to overcome the prevailing culture of violence in our world by seeking the path of forgiveness and reconciliation. Amen.

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)

 

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) [Mt 5:13-16]

08.02.2026

The Call of Disciples as Salt and Light

Readings: (1) Is 58:7-10 (2) 1 Cor 2:1-5

1.    Theme in brief

Our vocation to season human society and light up the world

2.    Focus Statement

A Christian disciple is called to give taste or flavour to human society, preserve it from evil of corruption and be pure like salt; and be a light shining from a high place in the darkness of our world.

3.    Explanation of the text

In today’s gospel Jesus explains the vocation and mission of his disciples in the world or human society with emphatically repeated words, “you (my disciples) are called to be salt and light”. He uses three metaphors to explain their vocation or role: (1) to be salt of the earth; (2) city built on a hill; and (3) light of the world (5:13-14). Jesus does not tell his disciples to become like salt or light, as many of us understand his saying. They already are salt and light by their faith in him. Now they have to manifest what they already are. How? Of course, by exhibiting the qualities of salt and light in their personal conduct, so that their life may become a witness for him and bring glory to their Father in heaven (5:16).

The qualities of salt are these: (1) purity because of its white colour (if it is “salt of the earth,” that is,  rock-salt extracted from the mines); (2) giving taste/flavour to food, or seasoning food; and (3) preserving food (especially meat and fish) from decay or corruption. Jesus tells his disciples not to lose their saltiness or taste; instead always be true to their vocation to remain ‘salty.’ He warns them if they lose their seasoning and preservative qualities, they become useless disciples like insipid salt that is thrown out and trampled under foot (5:13). Not only here, but in some other parts of the gospel too Jesus upholds this dictum: Uselessness or fruitlessness always invites disaster or rejection (cf. Lk 13:9; Jn 15:6).

Secondly, the disciples are like a city built on a hill or mountain that cannot be hidden. If this is true about ancient cities, how much more about modern ones. In modern age such cities or towns, far from hiding, marvellously shine even from a far distance especially aat night with all types of electrical illumination. Jesus says that his disciples cannot hide their faith. If they practice the beatitudes that were proclaimed in last Sunday’s gospel (Mt 5:1-12), their life-style, behaviour and action will be clearly visible to others.

The thiird metaphor of light used by Jesus symbolizes the following: (1) a thing that shines in such a way that it can be seen by others; (2) a medium through which darkness is dispelled; (3) that which reveals what is hidden; (4) that which shows or guides the way, or becomes a beacon. Now we can understand that Jesus gives his disciples a mission to light up the world, dispel its darkness, reveal God’s presence through their lives and guide others to God’s ways or his values. Jesus further speaks about the foolishness of lighting a lamp and covering it up with a basket instead of putting it on a high place such as a lampstand, so that all can see its light (5:15). It is clear that our light is meant for shining before people and not for hiding.

The ultimate purpose of shining their light is to draw attention to God who is at work in and through their “good deeds”. Their good conduct or deeds are like a light shining from a high place attracting people and bringing glory not to themselves but to God (5:16).

4.    Application to life

In the Beatitudes (Mt 5:3-10), Jesus has already given the blueprint of an exemplary Christian discipleship. In today’s gospel he uses three metaphors to describe the disciples who practice the norms laid down in the Beatitudes. They are compared to salt of the earth, city built on a hill and light of the world. Their vocation is to give taste to unsavoury situations, light up the dark areas and shine brightly so that they are seen from afar. These metaphors are a beautiful reflection on the true value, preciousness and privileged nature of our Christian vocation. Our vocation lays upon us a tremendous responsibility for the world. As disciples, we are called to live out our identity in the world by exhibiting the nature of salt and light.

First of all, as salt, all our motives and intentions must be pure. Secondly, like salt, we have to add joy to our daily work and give taste to tasteless situations in our lives. We are to constantly reflect how we can bring joy into our life in the midst of routine and monotony of doing the same work every day. To add flavour to this situation, we are to radiate joy and optimism in the midst of hardships. Thirdly, we are called to improve the quality of human life by improving the quality of our service and contributions to human society. We are to make life tasty not only for ourselves but also for others. Just as people add salt to food to make it tasty, we are called to add value and quality to the world or to human lives. If we ourselves lose quality of life, how can we bring quality in others’ life? Fourthly, like salt, we are called to preserve our society from moral corruption, evil and ungodly ways.

Neither salt nor light exist for themselves. The purpose of salt and light is met only when they are used, poured out and spent. Similarly, neither Christ’s disciples nor the Church exist for their own sake but for the world’s. As explained above, salt has three main qualities: seasoning, purifying and preserving. Salt keeps food from being insipid and preserves it from corruption. In order to give taste, salt must come into contact with food. Similarly, a Christian must touch the issues and concerns of humans and their society in order to give taste to it, and preserve it from corruption and decay.

If table-salt is kept in a nice sprinkler on the table, it doesn’t do any good. When it is sprinkled on food and gets dissolved into it, it adds taste. Similarly, if light is covered and kept hidden, it cannot show anything to anybody. Only when it is brought out in a dark place, it can brighten up the area. The purpose of our Christian vocation is to fulfil our mission to sprinkle salt all over our society. Far from non-involvement, we are called to influence every sphere of human society – social, economic, political and cultural – with the values of the gospel. Instead of compromising with sin or evil of the world, our mission is to save the world from sin.

In the given gospel text, actually Jesus does not say that we should become “the salt of the earth” and “light of the world,” but we are.... By our baptism, we are already salt, city on hilltop and light. Jesus motivates and challenges us to live out this vocation in the modern world and show in our conduct what we have already become. Hence, we have to manifest to the world who we actually are by staying salty. The word used for “losing taste” or becoming “tasteless” in original language (Greek) literally means “to become foolish.” Christians who do not stay salty or lose their saltiness are making fools of themselves. Instead of being salt of the earth, they tend to be “sugar of the earth.” Salt has a bite of its own, especially when it is applied on a fresh wound. We are called to stay ‘salty’ even when others oppose us for this quality. We should resist the temptation to make the gospel either a sugar-coated cake or salt-free potato chips. We can season the earth only when we live a sugar-free gospel and sprinkle sufficient salt on our ‘potato chips,’ that is, our life and social situation.

By the example of our lives we are called to preserve the world from total moral corruption and decay. By our influence and personal and communitarian example, we save the world from universal evil. We are called to purify human society from corruption in mass media, commerce, politics, public life, and even within the Church. We have an obligation to arrest corruption in our society by our own purity. We are called to exert a moral influence on our society.

Jesus warns that there is a possibility that salt may lose its saltiness or salty taste or value. Losing zeal, vigour and enthusiasm is also like losing savour. How do we lose our saltiness or taste? Or, let us put the question positively: How can we give taste? We can do it by (1) our positive and optimistic way of thinking; (2) showing enthusiasm and zeal for life and service; (3) radiating joy; (4) showing a taste or interest in God or in spiritual matters and leading others to develop a taste for spiritual values; and (4) avoiding destructive criticism and tendencies to become prophets of gloom or doom; etc. In the beginning of any new venture, job or entering into a new state of life, we show a lot of initial enthusiasm, but our fervour dies after some time. When we show a lack of zeal, vitality and joy in our behaviour and action, we become tasteless or flavourless Christians. Jesus says that such flavourless disciples are useless, and may be rejected by the world. So we have to ask whether we are worthwhile or worthless Christians.

 Christ is the light of the world (Jn 8:12). As bearers of his light, we too are the light that shines in the darkness of the world. In other words, we are called to be a beacon (light in a high place) in the midst of darkness, chaos, unrest and sadness. Yes, we must be a beacon of truth in a world of sin, dishonesty and falsehood. Today, Jesus makes us aware that, as his disciples, it is not enough to attend devotions, novenas, retreats and healing sessions without any concern for darkness in the world. Our world, in spite of being basically good, has enough of darkness in it. People who often suffer the darkness of evil in the world get frustrated. Just as the light burns for others, we live not only for ourselves, but for others by flashing our light in darkened areas. Like the sun, we radiate the light of love, service and truth to all around us.

Jesus tells us to shed light of faith, hope, charity, mercy, peace, justice and honesty or truthfulness amidst darkness that negates these values. He tells us to light up our workplace, family and neighbourhood with these values. Bribery, injustice, exploitation, widespread violence and so many other evils lead the society to decay. Unless there are some people to uphold moral purity and preservative quality of salt, this decay will be worse. Therefore, we should not forget to penetrate human society with the sprinkle of a little bit of salt wherever we go and work. When we dilute the message of Christ and compromise with evil, or fail to live according to our Christian vocation we become insipid (flavourless). Then we lose our opportunity to bear testimony to Christ which is like losing our flavour and becoming useless disciples.  

Both the metaphors of a city built on hill and a lamp put on an elevated place emphasize the fact that our Christian vocation is not purely a private affair, but is of public nature. As followers of Christ we are not secret agents. As nobody dreams of putting a light under a bushel, we have to be sure that the reason for our existence as Christians is to give light to those who surround us. Our faith is not meant for hiding; it must be shown not so much by the cross we wear on our chests, but in our good conduct or loving service. In the area where I work as a missionary, a number of villages are called ‘Tongritoli’ or ‘Pahartoli’ (meaning a village on a hill or mountain). Can such villages hide from being seen from far? We are often tempted to hide our light in the following manner: by not speaking when we must tell the truth; by compromising with the values of the world; by colluding with the evil; by closing our eyes on the needs of others, especially of the poor; etc.

If we really want to be salt and light, we must behave and act differently from the general current of our society. People notice it. They may even ask us: “Why do you behave differently? Why don’t you follow the crowd?” Whenever we bear witness to Christ through our good conduct and works of mercy others recognize Christ in us and it becomes the cause of giving glory to our heavenly Father and not to ourselves. If so, where is the place for arrogance, working for one’s own name and fame or taking credit for oneself?

5.    Response to God's Word

Are we really living out our vocation and mission as Christian disciples? How do we fulfill our call to manifest “saltiness” in our workplace, neighbourhood, family and community? What are the dark areas in our family life, friendships, work relations, and neighbourhood? Do we try to make our Christian identity visible through our good conduct or keep our faith in hiding? Are our motives pure, or selfish and insincere? Do we withdraw from good work when people reject, ridicule and oppose us because of our ‘salty’ nature? Do we succumb to public pressure to accept corrupt ways of the world? In the past, when and how did we hide our faith?

6.    A prayer

O Lord, give us the courage to preserve our society from moral corruption, evil and ungodly ways. As bearers of your light, grant that we may shine brightly in the darkness of the world. Give us the grace not to hide our light out of fear of opposition and criticism. May we attract people to you by our good conduct or deeds and bring glory to you. Amen.