Homily: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Friends,
as we journey through these weeks of Ordinary Time, we are challenged to grow
in our discipleship of Jesus. In
previous weeks, we have been encouraged to behold Jesus, the Lamb of God, in
the different moments and encounters of our daily lives, to see in the Word of
God both a record of God’s promises to us and the evidence of their
fulfillment, and to be lowly and pure so that we might be blessed to recognize
God’s presence among us. Last week, the
Mass moved us to remember that we have been given a mission to evangelize: that
is, that we are called to be “salt” and “light” in the world.
In
our continued reading from the Sermon on the Mount this week, echoes of Jesus’
metaphors of “salt” and “light” are present.
We remember that, by teaching his disciples that they are “salt”, he is
teaching them that they are to take what is good in the world and to enhance it
and preserve it with the goodness of the Gospel, just as salt enhances and
preserves the good flavor of food. By
teaching his disciples that they are “light”, Jesus is teaching them that they
are to shine the light of the Gospel in the world though their good works, so
that others may “see their good deeds and glorify [their] heavenly Father”.
In
today’s reading, Jesus is defending himself against his critics who accused him
of trying to diminish or ignore the commandments from the Torah: the
commandments of God expressed in the first five books of the Old Testament. As we heard, Jesus boldly contradicts these
claims, saying, “I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” He goes on to describe in detail how it is
not enough for his followers to observe the Law externally, but that they must
also look internally—to the interior motivations that often lead a person to
violate the Law externally—and they must strive to eliminate those
motivations. In another act of boldness,
he states that, should someone harbor these motivations internally, it’s as
much of a sin as if he/she violated the Law externally!
What
we see here is Jesus himself being salt and light for the Mosaic Law. When he says that he has come to fulfill,
what he is saying is that, like salt on food, he has come to take what is good
in the Law and to enhance and preserve it.
When he says that he has come to fulfill, what he is saying is that,
like a light shining on a lampstand, he has come to shine the light of the
Gospel into the observance of the Law so that it’s full goodness can be
revealed, leading all the nations to glorify our Father in heaven.
What
he also implies is that mere external observance of the Law (without the inward
purification that he calls for) isn’t the way to keep things status quo, but rather that it can be
detrimental and leave things worse. The Law,
followed slavishly, leads to animosity and competition/comparisons among
followers. This is not the effect that
the Law was meant to have. Rather, it
was meant to create the conditions in which God’s chosen people could live in harmony
with God and with one another. Thus, the
observance of the Law that creates competition/comparison with others (such as
the slavish observance of the Scribes and Pharisees) is an observance that
makes this “salt” to lose its taste (that is, to become “insipid”… which is an
unpleasant sounding word, right?), and thus good for nothing but to be thrown
out and trampled underfoot. When this
happens, it has the negative effect of sterilizing the ground so that nothing
will grow there in the future.
The
observance of the Law that creates competition/comparison with others is an
observance that takes this “light” and places it under a basket. When this happens, it not only obscures the
light from filling the room, as is its purpose, but it also has the effect of
extinguishing the light, as it will burn out as soon as it consumes all the
oxygen beneath the basket. Thus, in both
cases, the status quo—that is, the
slavish external observance of the
Law—doesn’t maintain things as they are, but ultimately makes them worse. For this reason, Jesus strives to be “salt”
and “light” for the Law: to bring out the fullness of its flavor and the full
brightness of its light, so that its intended effect might be realized.
This
is a challenge to us here today. Human
nature hasn’t changed fundamentally and, even though grace has made it possible
for us to overcome our limitations, we are still constantly tempted to believe
that by minimally observing the external requirements of God’s commandments we
have done enough. The harder work is to
purify our internal motivations. The
good news is that this purification can take place by our continued commitment
to external observances.
For
example, perhaps we are motivated to help the needy by serving at a local soup
kitchen or food pantry. As we serve, we
start to notice some resentment arise in our hearts as we encounter needy
persons who seem to be ungrateful for the help they receive. Perhaps this makes us want to stop
serving. If we continue, however, we
expose ourselves to that “purifying fire” of love that desires to help this
needy person, in spite of his/her
outwardly ungrateful attitude. Soon,
we’re serving not because we are externally motivated by the commands of God,
but rather because our hearts desire the closeness with these brothers and
sisters that serving their needs provides.
This is the fullness that the “salt” and “light” of the Law is meant to
realize. ///
I
know that this parish has a great tradition of being “salt” and “light” in this
community through its good works that bring forth the goodness of the
gospel. You should be proud of this
tradition and be filled with joy that many others have come to glorify God
through your good works. As you have
done, please continue to support your parish through your gifts of time,
talent, and treasure.
Today,
I also want to thank you again for your support of the Catholic Ministries
Appeal, Bishop Doherty’s annual appeal to support the ministries that our
diocese provides that no single parish alone could support. Last week, in sharing Father Richard’s message
with you, I detailed many of the important ministries that this appeal supports. These ministries are intended to be “force
multipliers” to your parish ministries: that is, ministries that support and
enhance your local, parish-level ministries so that they can produce even more
fruit (or, to continue with our metaphors, to further enhance the flavor of
your ministries and to increase their brightness). Therefore, in the name of your pastor, Father
Richard, I am inviting you again to unite yourself with us in this good work by
making your gift or your pledge to this year’s Catholic Ministries Appeal, which
you can do during the second collection today. /// Friends, we are one Church
across 24 counties in north-central Indiana and when we are united in ways like
this, we strengthen our individual ministries in our local parishes.
Thank
you, again, for your generosity. It is a
sign of your grateful response to the grace that God has poured out to us in
Jesus Christ. As we approach this altar,
may our thanksgiving inspire us and strengthen us to continue the good work of
growing in discipleship, so that we can be the true salt and light of God’s
goodness to all around us.
Given in Spanish at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish: Carmel,
IN
February 11, 2023
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