2023-02-05—Be Bread

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 

In last week's gospel, Matthew gave us the Beatitudes.  We often think of the Beatitudes as rewards for different groups of good people.  They are not.  Rather, they are the characteristics that each of us should strive to embody.  One could say they are the steps, in no particular order, that can transform us.  As we know Jesus was familiar with the writings of the prophet Isaiah.  In today's first reading Isaiah gives us a hint at what Jesus was getting at in last Sunday's as well as this Sunday's gospel reading.  The issues in the first reading appear more than once in the gospel of Matthew.  Isaiah admonishes us to share our bread with the hungry, to shelter the oppressed and the homeless; to clothe the naked, to remove oppression, false accusations and malicious speech from our communities.  Then, Isaiah tells us, not only will our light break forth like the dawn but also, a light shall rise for us in the darkness and our gloom will become like midday.

 

In today's gospel, Matthew tells us we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.    As Richard Rohr says, we must keep in mind that salt is not the whole meal.  To be salt of the earth is not to be better than others but to enliven the lives of others as salt enlivens the flavour of a meal. If we don't work for the good of others, we are like salt that has lost its flavour and useless.  As always it is not big deeds that define us.  Rather, it is how we are in the world.  For example, take Isaiah's suggestion to “satisfy the afflicted”, or as some translations say, “satisfy the needs of the afflicted.”  This could be a simple as giving a friendly smile to a woman who is wearing a hijab or planting indigenous plants in your garden or setting up a compost bin designed for apartments if you live in an apartment.  To be salt includes the small efforts we make on behalf of our relatives human and non-human.

 

Isaiah has already told us that when we share our bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked, and when we remove oppression, false accusations, and malicious speech from our communities near and far, we become the light of the world.  These things are often things we can't do alone.  We can either do them as a group or support in various ways, groups that do.

 

There is much work for us as political decisions at odds with the common good are being made south of the border and here at home.  The government approval on May 11, 2021, to extend the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project by approximately 3 kilometers at its eastern terminus near Groundbirch, BC signals a call to action for the defense of our lands and waters and the creatures that inhabit them.  But activism needs to have a firm basis in prayer and contemplation so that we are strengthened and healed as we work for the strength and healing of Mother Earth and her children.  Today's gospel tells us that our “light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify [God].”  Jesus is reminding us that the good we do can influence others to do good as well but also that the good we do should be based on our love of our Creator and all the Creator's works.  

Please share your thoughts.

 

 

 


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