Salt of the Earth and Light of the World…
Salt of the Earth and Light of the World…
Mother Teresa of Calcutta did all she had done out of love, and it brightened the whole world. It was this love that moved people so deeply. Commenting on this point, former British TV star Malcolm Muggeridge said in effect: “I can’t tell you how much I owe to Mother Teresa. She showed me Christianity in action. She showed me love in action. She showed me how the love of one person can start a tidal wave that can spread across the world.
”Indeed, Mother Teresa shows how we can be the light of the world. Mother Teresa didn’t set out to spare her light before people. She simply set out to love. And in love, she became a light for the whole world. This is the second Sunday we read from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. It is a continuation of the beatitudes from last week. This Sunday, we meditate on Jesus’ calling to his disciples to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). The disciples are not the salt and light of Israel but the whole world. This foreshadows the final commission of the Risen Lord: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Pope Benedict XIV says, Jesus takes his seat on the cathedra as the teacher of people everywhere. Jesus sits on the cathedra of Moses. But he does so not after the manner of teachers who are trained for the job in a school; he sits there as the greater Moses, who broadens the Covenant to include all nations. Salt is a precious commodity in the biblical context. The word “salary” comes from the Ancient Roman era when soldiers were paid in salt. Salt was an essential requirement for all sacrifices. We read in Leviticus 2:13, “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking from your grain offering. On every offering, you shall offer salt.”
Leviticus 2:11 says, “Every grain offering that you present to the LORD shall be unleavened, for you shall not burn any leaven or honey as an oblation to the LORD. Salt is a symbol of permanence, hence "salt of the covenant". Honey and leaven cannot be used in the sacrifices because they symbolize fermentation and subsequent decay and decomposition. Salt is a symbol of permanence, hence "salt of the covenant" (Levi 2:13). When Jeroboam and ten northern tribes break away from the house of David, Abijah the king of Judah, assures Jeroboam that God has given the kingdom to the house of David as a "covenant of salt' 2Chronicles 13:5. The rights of the priest to their share of all offerings is a "perpetual due" and hence "a covenant of the salt." Num 18:19.
Salt added flavor to the food. Job 6:6 “Can anything insipid be eaten without salt?” Ben Sira includes salt among the essentials of life: "The prime needs of human beings for a living are water, fire, and salt, wheat flour, milk and honey, the use of grapes, oil, and clothing." Ecclesiasticus 39:26.
Salt is used for cleansing and hygiene. 2King 2:20-21 says. Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt into it.” When they had brought it to him, he went out to the spring and threw salt into it, saying, “Thus says the LORD: I have purified this water. Never again shall death or sterility come from it.” Ezekiel 16:4 says, “As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut; you were not washed with water or anointed; you were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in swaddling clothes.” Salt is still used as a preservative, and for cleansing, and blessed salt protects against evil. Jesus told his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth” and warned them not to lose its taste. Then he told them, “You are the light of the world.” In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah, on several occasions in Isaiah chapters 42 and 49, describes Israel as being called by God to be a “light to the nations.” The light was also associated with the Temple. Based on Zechariah 14:7-8, Jews believed that in the end time, the Temple would be the continual source of light. During the Feast of Tabernacle, the Temple court was lit up twenty-four hours by a huge menorah. We can imagine that it would be a beautiful sight. Jewish traditions say there was no shadow being in Jerusalem. Gospel of John chapter 7 starts with the Feast of Tabernacle. After this Feast, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” (8:12).“
A city built on a hill cannot be hidden” (5:14), Jerusalem was on Mount Zion. “Light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket” is visible and attracts others. The salt and light describe the divine mission. The role of disciples, and Christians is to bring out the best in others by leading them to Christ. In the first reading, Isaiah describes the same message as Jesus did; how good works and acts of charity can be light to others. By being salt and light, we enable others to see the way from the darkness of sin to the splendor of Heaven.