Sunday, February
10, 2002
5th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Is 58:7-10
Thus says the Lord:
Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless,
clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin.
Then will your light will break forth as the dawn and your healing come
in a flash.
Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the Glory of Yahweh your rearguard.
Then you will call and Yahweh will answer, you will cry and he will say,
I am here.
If you remove from your midst the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked
word, if you share your food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the dark, your night will be like noon.
2nd Reading: 1 Cor 2:1-5
When I came, my brothers and sisters, to reveal to you the mystery of
God's plan I did not count on eloquence or on a show of learning. I was
determined not to know anything among you but Jesus, the Messiah, and
a crucified Messiah. I myself came weak, fearful and trembling; my words
and preaching were not brilliant or clever to win listeners. It was, rather,
a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might be a matter,
not of human wisdom, but of God's power.
Gospel:
Mt 5:13-16
Jesus said to his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth. But
if salt has lost its strength, how can it be made salty again? It has
become useless. It can only be thrown away and people will trample on
it.
You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden.
No one lights a lamp and covers it; instead it is put on a lampstand,
where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way your light
must shine before others, so that they may see the good you do and praise
your Father in heaven."
Commentary
Salt was the basic seasoning for people in ancient time, before other
flavorings and condiments were used, not that salt gave taste to food,
but that it brought out the taste from within. But more than being a "taste-bringer,"
salt was valued more for being a preservative as there was no other way,
then, of storing and preserving food.
The Christian community is regarded as the salt of this world. In the
midst of the turmoil and agitation that the world experiences, in its
frenzy for wealth and progress, it is the Christian community, not only
the individual Christian, that preserves the world's sanity to focus on
what is essential and lasting. All things will pass but the Christian
community has set its heart on that which does not change - and this preserves
the world.