Tuesday in Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, June 8, 2021

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.”

The Gospel of St. Matthew can be read in light of the persecution the Galilean Christians were suffering at the time the Gospel was written, and of the Evangelist’s intention to strengthen their faith with recollections of the Lord Jesus.  The regular references made to the coming judgment at the end of the age tell us that this, too, was very much in the minds of the Evangelist and his original readers.  The Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7 of this Gospel contains numerous promises and assurances of the Lord both in regards to persecution and to the end times.  This is true of the well-known Beatitudes, and of the verses which form the Gospel reading for today’s Mass.

“You are the salt of the earth.”  Salt has always been used in small quantities and is sprinkled on food.  Too much of it can make any food inedible, but just the right amount can render it tasty.  It is not only most often found in the form of tiny particles, but these dissolve in water and tend to disappear in food.  The Lord calls his disciples “salt” because while they are not numerous and not prominent, yet their “flavor”, their “saltiness” changes the “taste” of everything it touches.  Salt is best used when it is used subtly.  It disappears, but is known to be present through its taste.  The disciples of Christ, through prayer and by the example of their virtues, influence non-believers.  This is especially true in giving example of virtues rarely seen today, such as modesty and honesty, which quietly challenge the status quo.  The disciples are the salt “of the earth”.  That is, to the people of the world.  They can “flavor” these people.  “But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?”  The disciples must persevere in the world despite persecution.  They must continue in their faith, even growing in it during difficult times.  We maintain our “taste” in this way.  “But to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”  The fate of the person who believed for a time but then gave up because of the cares of the world or tribulation, is to be “thrown out” at the time of death and then to be “trampled underfoot” by the demons.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.” It is Christ which causes the “saltiness” in the salt, the “light” in the sun, and is the mountain on which the “city” is set.  Without him, the salt is worthless, the sun is dark, and the city is lost.  He gives saltiness, light, and visibility to the works of his disciples so that he might make more disciples through them.  “Your light must shine before others.”  That is, we do not show off our light as though it announced our own importance.  In truth, if our light burns brightly enough, unbelievers will see not us but the light itself and will want it for themselves. “They may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”  That is, they will see our heavenly Father in the deeds and glorify him.  

There is much for the Christian to do in this adverse age.  There are so many people to convert.  But we cast a wide net with our ordinary daily living in which Christ is enthroned in our hearts.