The Similes of Salt and Light

Today's Reflections 

      

The Similes of Salt and Light

Mt 5:13-16

[Jesus said to his disciples,] ¹³“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. ¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor 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. ¹⁶Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

SALT OF THE EARTH, LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Besides calling the first disciples to be fishers of men, Jesus wills his disciples to be salt of the earth and light of the world. Salt, then and now, is a basic necessity of life. It preserves and seasons food. Paul advises believers, “Let your speech always be gracious, and seasoned with salt” (Col 4:6). Moreover, to partake of salt is to establish and celebrate friendship between parties.

Light is even more indispensable. It is so important that it becomes an image of the divine. “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5). Jesus reveals himself as “the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). The fact that Jesus also calls his disciples “light of the world” underlines both dignity and responsibility. The disciples are not light by themselves, but in mirroring and reflecting the divine light, they in turn give light to other people. They become light by their good deeds that glorify their heavenly Father.

In Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI underlines that, despite the crisis of faith that has affected many people, “we cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden” (n 2). To be salt and light means to live our faith in such a way that it really matters to people. Better to be small but pungent like pepper than to be a big but tasteless fruit.

In the age of information technology

and social networking,

how can you be a light to others?

What can you do to make the face of Christ be seen

and his voice be heard in the digital world?