From the Deacon’s Desk 2/9/2020

Dear Friends:

Our Gospel reading from Matthew 5:13-16 today is actually a continuation of the Beatitudes. It’s important to note that Jesus continues to speak to his disciples in this section just as he did with the Beatitudes. (We did not hear from the Beatitudes this year because the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord was celebrated. This only happens every seven or eight years.

When Jesus walked the earth, salt was used not only as a seasoning but to preserve food. If the salt had been compromised then it became useless. As Jesus says “it is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Jesus is using this example to make his disciples understand that if someone has heard the message of Jesus but fails to live the life he teaches, they are useless as disciples.

In his second example, Jesus calls on Isaiah’s message from our first reading implying that if people follow the message God has for us, “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed, your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” In simpler terms, if we are following a life Jesus wants us to, we will be a light to all people. An example of how we all are to live. Jesus, in the Gospel, goes on to say that if you are living this type of life “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

God has given us so many gifts including the gift of Jesus himself! We must share these gifts with other people. We must live lives that inspire other people to live the way Jesus would want them to. We must be a light to those in darkness, to those who have lost hope, to those who need a light in their world!

Peace and All Good!

Deacon Jim