A Salty World - Reflection 5th Sunday OT A

A Salty World

Readings

Salt nuisances flavors, used the right amount it brings flavor.. But if it is used unwisely, it can cause problems. We live in a salty world; better yet, a complexed world. Its complexity is influenced by the many lives, governments, and diverse goals in the world. Then the world throws in the battle of good and evil just to spice things up.

In all these, God's word and message has never changed. But, we use the salt of His words unwisely sometimes to add complexity to our human existence.  

The word of God is the light of truth. We tend to hide His truth in different opinions, ideas, and beliefs. We tend to disagree. Our disagreements turn to turmoil, riots, and violence instead of settling them with the wisdom that comes from God. Instead of God, we look to people. People who claim they are a people of peace. A peace salted by the complexly of their ideas of peace. The world has always been a complexed place.

Mirroring the words of Isaiah and Jesus, Pope Francis said “It's hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of help.”

But Pope Francis was quoted in the Spanish newspaper El Pais, “every country has the right to control its borders, especially where the risk of terrorism exists.” Even the Pope must speak in a complex world.

This world has always been a complexed world. The Old Testament of the Bible was written in a complexed world. Jesus lived in a complexed world. And, Paul wrote in a complexed world. All are salt intended to bring out our best but we tend to make them complex.

God's message is not complex. Isaiah gave this message to a people who had been at war, held captive, and could not trust. God's message: 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.

These are important things. In these important things, Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth, the seasoning that gives taste to life. But, salt goes stale and loses it taste. We become stale when the gospel becomes secondary in our life.

Jesus tells us we are called to be the salt and the light. We are not called to be stale flavorless salt. We are not a light to be kept hidden. Over the years and in times of fear and uncertainty, even those of us who call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ have become like stale tasteless salt. The light of Christ is hidden under the basket that is the complexity of life.

It is hard to be a Christian. We are to preach the gospel by who we are, what we do and say, and by the example we give to the world. But, our message is too many times hidden by our weakness, fear, and trembling. The sad part is that we are not in fear and trembling of God, but a fear and trembling from our humanness.  We fear our message. We fear we will be called weak because we stand up for love, called soft because we care for the weak, or considered the enemy because we care for the refugee.

We can change this complex world by looking at the simple.Think of the teachings of solidarity and subsidiarity. Solidarity, simply, is loving our neighbor (a global concept in a shrinking world.) Subsidiarity is doing it at the simplest level first.

In solidary and subsidiarity, the Lord will be glorified.  And, the light of the Lord will shine in this world.

Put your faith not in human wisdom but on the power of God then our message will be salt and light to the world.

Be the salt and light; preach the gospel by the way you live and love. Amen.