You are the Light of the World

 

 This Sunday's Gospel passage (Mt. 5:13-16) is brief and to the point, yet it is also very powerful.  So often we look to the Scriptures to find what we are to believe and what we are to do.  Both of these are important, but there is another dimension to the Scriptures as well--They tell us who we are.  The First letter of John, for example, tells us that we are children of God.  Genesis tells us that we are made in the image and likeness of God. We're probably OK with both of those descriptions and certainly with  the many places that ell us that we are sinners, but can we really believe today's message--"You are salt of the earth. You are light of the world."  We recoil from that. We think that with more spiritual growth we could become salt and light, but with all of our imperfections this can not be the case now, yet IT IS INDEED THE CASE.

   You see, both of these descriptions are gifts that are given to us at Baptism.  They have nothing to do with our spiritual, moral and intellectual accomplishments.  Last August my grandniece, Madeline, was baptized.  After her baptism she was told through her parents and grandparents,  "Receive the Light of Christ." And then, Parents and grandparents this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ. She is to walk always as a child of the light. May she keep the flame of faith alive in her heart. When the Lord comes to meet her may she go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom."

   The challenge for us as adults who have embraced our baptism is to allow the light of Christ to shine in our lives.  We don't have to wait until we reach a higher spiritual plateau. In fact the only way to reach a higher level spiritually is by letting that light shine even more brightly by growing in love for others, as today's first reading (Is. 58:7-10) suggests, and by conforming ourselves more closely to Christ, as the second reading (1 Cor 2:1-5) suggests.  You are the light of the world.  Are you up to the challenge of letting the light shine?