"YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH ..."

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Reading: Matthew 5:13-16

Don’t you hate to be on display? Some people might like to be on center stage, but certainly not when they are doing something they know they shouldn’t be doing. We only want to be noticed when we are doing something praiseworthy, don’t we?.

Jesus is trying to tell us we are people who are always on display, like it or not. We are known as being one of his, we are known as being Christian, we call ourselves Catholics. That means we are on center stage all the time - good performance or bad. It is time all Catholics and Christians realize that. “You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world,” Jesus said. He expects us to live up to our calling. Not easy for anyone. Even actors on a stage have bad days and terrible performances.

But we have more of a problem than an actor. We are not to be merely putting on a performance. Our good worth is to be real, not pretended. Our saltiness, our brightness is to come from deep down within our very souls. What people see is what we are actually expected by God to be. An actor on a stage might be loving and kind and generous. That same actor behind the scenes might be an unholy terror. Though it might be good that people only see our good side so that we don’t bring scandal upon God’s house, it is essential for anyone wishing to live in heaven that they not only appear good, but that they are good.

“You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world,” Jesus said. “Your light must shine before men so that they may see goodness in your acts.” Jesus is talking about heavenly goodness, which is much more than skin deep.