Light and Salt

Without a doubt these are two necessities of life. Light, generated from the sun gives us warmth and heat, and salt, the compound produced from the two elements of sodium and chlorine, is required in some amount to ensure the survival of all animals and plants. You might then call them essential necessities, so, when Jesus refers to them in the gospel today, we should open our ears and listen to what he tells us. I think he is telling us that our discipleship is identified by association with these two necessities. Light as a means of illuminating a pathway, and salt as a means of adding richness and flavour. But we may ask, where is the pathway leading us to and what is the richness and flavour that is to be brought into play?

In the prologue of John’s gospel, we read that the Word was the true light that enlightens all people...and the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. If we are to be light illuminating a pathway, it must be a pathway that leads all people to Christ. Therefore as disciples, our challenge as followers of Jesus, is to walk this pathway ourselves, encouraging others to take up the same challenge. We cannot therefore allow the light to become submerged or dimmed by our own failure to keep it shining brightly in our lives. The light of Christ has been given to all of us at our baptism. It was lit for us from the Paschal Candle as a reminder that the Risen Lord is now the light that illuminates our journey through life. To be true to our calling we must always support and encourage each other to keep it shining brightly.

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus begins his mission with the word “repent”. It is a word which means “change” as in change your way of doing things or change your way of living. The agents of change in the chemical world are known as catalysts, of which salt is a well-known example. Sprinkle salt on your chips and you will certainly notice the difference! Jesus is identifying us as catalysts of change in the world, agents of reaction and transformation. We are to be proclaimers of the great reagent of change, the gospel. We are to spread its joy and to sprinkle it around liberally and generously so that it transforms our lives and the lives of those around us.

The pathway we walk is to be illuminated by and enlightened by the change from what we were, to what we now are. Through Christ we have become “new creation”. Our eyes have been opened and our lives transformed. We are alive in his life. Let us share this life and show the world how wondrous and beautiful it is.