Life with Flavour in the Light.

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate how our understanding of the nature of salt and light can impact how we brighten and bring flavour to our environment.

Salt and Light

In the Reading from the First Book of Kings, Elijah is helped by a widow in the Drought.

c. [17:8–16] 2 Kgs 4:1–7; Lk 4:25–26. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 4 emphasizes trust in God.

* [Psalm 4] An individual lament emphasizing trust in God. The petition is based upon the psalmist’s vivid experience of God as savior (Ps 4:2). That experience of God is the basis for the warning to the wicked: revere God who intervenes on the side of the faithful (Ps 4:3–6). The faithful psalmist exemplifies the blessings given to the just (Ps 4:7–8). (Psalms, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presents the Similes of Salt and Light.

* [5:13–16] By their deeds the disciples are to influence the world for good. They can no more escape notice than a city set on a mountain. If they fail in good works, they are as useless as flavorless salt or as a lamp whose light is concealed.

* [5:13] The unusual supposition of salt losing its flavor has led some to suppose that the saying refers to the salt of the Dead Sea that, because chemically impure, could lose its taste. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

Margo Minnich comments when Jesus calls us the “salt of the earth”, she hears a calling that her life is meant to enhance and bring out hidden goodness in situations and to be a source of preservation and healing. The image of light reaches even deeper. Light doesn’t argue with darkness; it just shines. It reveals what’s true, guides those who are lost, and brings warmth to cold places.

What moves me most is that Jesus speaks in terms of identity, not aspiration. He doesn’t say, “Try to become salt” or “Work on being light.” He says, “You are”. That means my role isn’t to manufacture goodness but to allow God’s goodness to flow through me. When I choose kindness over irritation, honesty over placating, courage over silence, my light shines - not to draw attention to myself, but to reflect the One who lit it in the first place.

In the end, this passage reminds me that even small acts matter. A gentle word, a patient response, a moment of generosity - these are ways my little light shines in ordinary spaces. And just like the song I learned as a child, I feel Jesus inviting me again and again to let that light shine, trusting that He can use even the smallest flame to push back the darkness. (Minnich, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The Light of Truth,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD)

The Lord has already called his disciples the "salt of the earth" because they seasoned with divine wisdom the hearts of the human race which had been made tasteless by the devil. Now he also calls them the "light of the world." For, illumined by his very own self who is the true and eternal light, they too become light within the darkness. For since he himself is the sun of righteousness, he rightly also calls his disciples "light of the world." Through them, as if through shining rays, he poured the light of his knowledge on the entire world. For by showing the light of truth, the Lord's disciples made the darkness of error flee from people's hearts. (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 19.1.1-2)

[Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him as a "most learned and most holy man."] (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 5:13-16 comments that we can all be “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). As we “lose” our lives and follow Jesus, we “find” a more lively, exciting, “flavorful” life growing within us. We become more generous with our time and resources. We are more merciful and kind to the people around us. And we demonstrate the peace of Christ, even in challenging circumstances. And that new life makes us more attractive to everyone else.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it” (Summa I.1.8). To be holy is not to deny our humanity. It is the way God made us to live. His sanctifying grace builds upon the nature and personality we already have, making it clearer, stronger, and more beautiful.

Without Jesus, life can be a bland, endless, and futile flight from pain and difficulty. But with Jesus, life becomes an adventure with the God who loves us. As we walk with him, we become more ourselves and yet more like him. And that makes us more “salty” in a world yearning for life.

“Jesus, I want to become more like you—the salt of the earth.” (Meditation on Matthew 5:13-16, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Elijah called a famine upon the land and the Widow of Zarephath give Elijah one last meal and shares what little she had with him. As a result Elijah promised water and flour for her needs. Was this a miracle or generous neighbours with a change of heart?  In either case, she was generous and she was rewarded by God. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presents two Wisdom sayings. To live a good life we need to be excited by who we are and share it with the world. We set our lamp where it gives light for all to see.  Friar Jude contrasts this theme with a later admonition to not let our left hand know what our right hand gives and suggests the apparent contradiction is resolved by our motivation not to receive praise but to heal and help.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces CAC faculty emerita Cynthia Bourgeault who highlights that the primary quality of the kingdom of God is an experience of interabiding—one with God and with one another. There is no separation between humans and God because of this mutual interabiding that expresses the indivisible reality of divine love. We flow into God—and God into us—because it is the nature of love to flow. And as we give ourselves into one another in this fashion, the vine gives life and coherence to the branch while the branch makes visible what the vine is…. The whole and the part live together in mutual, loving reciprocity, each belonging to the other and dependent on the other to show forth the fullness of love. That’s Jesus’s vision of no separation between human and Divine.

No separation between human and human is an equally powerful notion—and equally challenging. One of the most familiar of Jesus’s teachings is “Love your neighbor as yourself” [Mark 12:31; Matthew 22:39]. But we almost always hear that wrong. We hear “Love your neighbor as much as yourself.”… If you listen closely to Jesus’s teaching however, there is no “as much as” in there. It’s just “Love your neighbor as yourself”—as a continuation of your very own being. It’s a complete seeing that your neighbor is you. There are not two individuals out there, one seeking to better herself at the price of the other, or to extend charity to the other; there are simply two cells of the one great Life. Each of them is equally precious and necessary. And as these two cells flow into one another, experiencing that one Life from the inside, they discover that “laying down one’s life for another” [John 15:13] is not a loss of one’s self but a vast expansion of it—because the indivisible reality of love is the only True Self. (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit as we act with our Baptismal anointing to be “salt and light” in our environment.

References

Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5? 

Meditation on Matthew 5:13-16. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved June 9, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/06/09/1588383/ 

Minnich, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved June 9, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-9-2026 

1 Kings, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/17? 

Psalms, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved June 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/4?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Mutual Interabiding. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 9, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/mutual-interabiding/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Salt of the Earth and Light of the World. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 9, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/ 

Providence and Paradox

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to apply our faith to the reality of the environment in which we live imperfectly called to be salt and light when the paradox of fear and trembling might be our experience.

Salt and Light

The Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah presents Reasons for Judgment.

* [58:6–12] Fasting is not genuine without reforming one’s way of life. A true social morality will ensure prosperity. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 58 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 112 is an acrostic poem detailing blessings.

* [Psalm 112] An acrostic poem detailing the blessings received by those who remain close to God by obedience to the commandments. Among their blessings are children (Ps 112:2), wealth that enables them to be magnanimous (Ps 112:3, 5, 9), and virtue by which they encourage others (Ps 112:4). The just person is an affront to the wicked, whose hopes remain unfulfilled (Ps 112:10). The logic resembles Ps 1; 111. (Psalms, PSALM 112 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians proclaims weakness* and fear and much trembling.

 

* [2:1] The mystery of God: God’s secret, known only to himself, is his plan for the salvation of his people; it is clear from 1 Cor 1:18–25; 2:2, 8–10 that this secret involves Jesus and the cross. In place of mystery, other good manuscripts read “testimony” (cf. 1 Cor 1:6).

* [2:3] The weakness of the crucified Jesus is reflected in Paul’s own bearing (cf. 2 Cor 10–13). Fear and much trembling: reverential fear based on a sense of God’s transcendence permeates Paul’s existence and preaching. Compare his advice to the Philippians to work out their salvation with “fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), because God is at work in them just as his exalting power was paradoxically at work in the emptying, humiliation, and obedience of Jesus to death on the cross (Phil 2:6–11).

* [2:4] Among many manuscript readings here the best is either “not with the persuasion of wisdom” or “not with persuasive words of wisdom,” which differ only by a nuance. Whichever reading is accepted, the inefficacy of human wisdom for salvation is contrasted with the power of the cross. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew presents The Similes of Salt and Light.

* [5:13–16] By their deeds the disciples are to influence the world for good. They can no more escape notice than a city set on a mountain. If they fail in good works, they are as useless as flavorless salt or as a lamp whose light is concealed.

* [5:13] The unusual supposition of salt losing its flavor has led some to suppose that the saying refers to the salt of the Dead Sea that, because chemically impure, could lose its taste. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ, comments that it is fair to say that many of us would say we don’t feel like the salt of the earth or the light of the world. Jesus is, in fact, telling us that we are gifted and called to be salt and light for our world.

We can read Isaiah 58 carefully as an aid to help us name the desires we have for our Lenten journey. This may be what God wants to give us during Lent. We can ask for these graces, and they can be our Lenten practices. We can ask to be renewed in this call, in our relationship with the poor, in our interaction with the most vulnerable, even in the way we advocate for those seeking justice, and in the way we discern how we will cast our vote.

We won’t let our salt lose its taste. We won’t hide our light under a bushel basket. (Alexander, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “The Light of Truth,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).

The Lord has already called his disciples the "salt of the earth" because they seasoned with divine wisdom the hearts of the human race which had been made tasteless by the devil. Now he also calls them the "light of the world." For, illumined by his very own self who is the true and eternal light, they too become light within the darkness. For since he himself is the sun of righteousness, he rightly also calls his disciples "light of the world." Through them, as if through shining rays, he poured the light of his knowledge on the entire world. For by showing the light of truth, the Lord's disciples made the darkness of error flee from people's hearts. (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 19.1.1-2)

[Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him as a "most learned and most holy man."] (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 comments that Paul never tired of reminding the Corinthians that the wisdom and power of God were their foundation. He would say the same to us because he knows how easy it can be to rely only on our own strength and wisdom. We need to look to Jesus, risen and victorious, and place our trust in him.

So let’s expand our thinking today and step out, trusting in our mighty God. Let’s turn to him first when we’re concerned about our loved ones. Let’s pray boldly for God to work in their lives. And if it takes time to see an answer, let’s keep praying! God’s power can change hearts far beyond what we can do on our own. Our best preaching or persuading, or even the witness of our lives, can’t compare with what the power of God can do. To begin, we need only to trust and pray—and watch to see what he will do.

“Lord, I trust in your power and love!” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the first reading is from Third Isaiah after the Exile when they arrived back in a depleted Israel and the text says the fault is theirs. Because they are not living the practice of sharing and helping the homeless. Faith is both vertical, in a relationship with God and horizontal in relationship with people. Paul speaks about weakness and preaching Christ crucified after his rejection in Athens by the Greek philosophers who believed the soul had to be rescued from the body. The Gospel of Mattthew presents two Wisdom sayings in the Sermon on the Mount that remind us that if salt lost its flavour it would be thrown out and we should give public witness like a lamp that is not hidden. Friar Jude notes that a later admonition in the Gospel about not letting our right hand know is a reference to our motivation in letting others witness our actions.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, identifies how the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 is a metaphor for the loss of innocence that we all experience.

The text states, “the eyes of both of them were opened” (3:7). What they were opened to was a split universe. Teachers of prayer call it the “subject-object split.” This happens whenever we stand over and against things, apart and analytical, and can no longer know things by affinity, likeness, or natural connection. Instead, we merely know them as objects out there, subject to our suspicion and doubt.  

This move of “leaving the garden” begins in all human beings somewhere around seven years of age. Before that time, like Adam and Eve in the garden, we exist in unitive consciousness. It’s where we all begin, when “the father and I are one” (John 10:30), or my mother and I are one—as many of us enjoy in the first years of life.  

Eventually the split happens. It has to happen. We will eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and suffer the “wound of knowledge.” We will get suspicious of ourselves and of everything else. We will doubt. That’s called the state of alienation, and many live their whole lives there. (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the Wisdom of the Spirit as we take on our mission to be good flavour in our environment as light against fear and despair.

References

Alexander, A. (2025, February 8). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-february-8-2026 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 58 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/58? 

Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?13 

Meditation on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/02/08/1496114/ 

1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/2? 

Psalms, PSALM 112 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/112?4 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Story for All Time. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-story-for-all-time/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). You Are the Salt of the Earth and Light of the World. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Preparing Presence

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to review the needs of the people in our environment and prepare to be present to them as followers of Jesus.

Being Present

The Reading from the First Letter of John proclaims our Life from God’s Anointing as Children of God.

* [2:22–23] Certain gnostics denied that the earthly Jesus was the Christ; to deny knowledge of the Son is to deny the Father, since only through the Son has God been fully revealed (Jn 1:18; 14:8–9).

* [2:24] Continuity with the apostolic witness as proclaimed in the prologue is the safeguard of right belief.

* [2:28–29] Our confidence at his judgment is based on the daily assurance of salvation. Our actions reflect our true relation to him. (1 John, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 98 is extolling God for Israel’s victory.

* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9). (Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John declares John the Baptist’s Testimony to Himself.

* [1:19–51] The testimony of John the Baptist about the Messiah and Jesus’ self-revelation to the first disciples. This section constitutes the introduction to the gospel proper and is connected with the prose inserts in the prologue. It develops the major theme of testimony in four scenes: John’s negative testimony about himself; his positive testimony about Jesus; the revelation of Jesus to Andrew and Peter; the revelation of Jesus to Philip and Nathanael.

* [1:19] The Jews: throughout most of the gospel, the “Jews” does not refer to the Jewish people as such but to the hostile authorities, both Pharisees and Sadducees, particularly in Jerusalem, who refuse to believe in Jesus. The usage reflects the atmosphere, at the end of the first century, of polemics between church and synagogue, or possibly it refers to Jews as representative of a hostile world (Jn 1:10–11).

* [1:20] Messiah: the anointed agent of Yahweh, usually considered to be of Davidic descent. See further the note on Jn 1:41.

* [1:21] Elijah: the Baptist did not claim to be Elijah returned to earth (cf. Mal 3:19; Mt 11:14). The Prophet: probably the prophet like Moses (Dt 18:15; cf. Acts 3:22).

* [1:23] This is a repunctuation and reinterpretation (as in the synoptic gospels and Septuagint) of the Hebrew text of Is 40:3 which reads, “A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord.”

* [1:24] Some Pharisees: other translations, such as “Now they had been sent from the Pharisees,” misunderstand the grammatical construction. This is a different group from that in Jn 1:19; the priests and Levites would have been Sadducees, not Pharisees.

* [1:26] I baptize with water: the synoptics add “but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit” (Mk 1:8) or “…holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11; Lk 3:16). John’s emphasis is on purification and preparation for a better baptism. (John, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Cindy Murphy McMahon comments that it always comes back to putting our sights on God, on Jesus, doesn’t it? As John says twice in 1 John, “remain in him.” We really have no hope if we take our sights off of God, his word, his Son, and put them exclusively on the present world and all of its divisions and rancor.

In the Gospel, John writes that when priests and Levites came to John the Baptist asking who he was, “He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, ‘I am not the Christ.’” How refreshing. Someone admitting and not denying something. Present-day politicians do not know the meaning of those words. Their mantra is admit nothing, deny everything.

John points his questioners to Jesus, gladly. Even though his own situation is bleak, he is happy to direct them to Jesus. He, and the whole of Scripture as well, points us to Jesus, too. The Alpha and the Omega. Our beginning and our end.

Lord, help us to follow John’s lead, and always look to your Son for the answer to every problem, for the Way, the Truth and the Life. (Murphy McMahon, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “John points to the Redeemer,” by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD).

"John did not baptize with the Spirit but with water, since he was unable to take away the sins of those being baptized. He washed their bodies with water but not their hearts with pardon. Why did one whose baptism did not forgive sins baptize, except that he was observing his vocation as forerunner? He whose birth foreshadowed greater birth, by his baptizing foreshadowed the Lord who would truly baptize. He whose preaching made him the forerunner of Christ, by baptizing also became his forerunner, using a symbol of the future sacrament. With these other mysteries he makes known the mystery of our Redeemer, declaring that he has stood among people and not been known. The Lord appeared in a human body: he came as God in flesh, visible in his body, invisible in his majesty." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 4) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 John 2:22-28 comments that God does love to give us new gifts, but he often does it by breathing new life into what he has already given us. The truths that we have known for years and years still have power and life in them.

At the beginning of a new year, in a rapidly changing world, Jesus’ promise is the same as it always was: you can remain in me, held, rooted, secure. There’s no need to chase the latest thing. Hold on to the truth that is already alive in your heart!

“Jesus, help me to remain in you, the Word spoken from the beginning.” (Meditation on 1 John 2:22-28, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments in the first reading from the First Letter of John, the question of the anti Christ, the ones who deny Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Father, is expressed. Greek philosophy considered the material world unable to be associated with the Divine. When the Jewish religious leaders visit John and ask who the Baptist is, he identifies as the voice of one crying in the desert. John points to Jesus in this Gospel and is the akin to the best man at the wedding. The best man wishes many children for the Bridegroom who must increase and John the Baptist must decrease when the Bridegroom is here.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Carlos Rodríguez, founder of The Happy Givers nonprofit based in Puerto Rico, who shares how he was challenged to be salt and light for an elderly man.

I went to see Don Héctor at the hospital. He was so happy to see us, and he immediately began to share the reality of being an elderly person in a hospital in Puerto Rico where we’re lacking doctors and nurses. The main thing he was frustrated with was the fact that he hadn’t had access to a shower for that whole week, and he took great pride in his appearance.

There’s nothing like being salt and light. As Father Richard has said many times, “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the good.” And giving Don Héctor a shower and spending time with him was the good….

We keep finding God in those showers. We keep finding God in these [things] that remind us of our childhood and our brokenness, but that also invite us into generational healing and transformation. There are so many good ethics and teachings and books, and there are so many good people speaking into microphones, but there’s nothing like just being present with the ones who need presence. (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the Wisdom of the Spirit to reveal the needs and care we are called to address as followers of Christ below the surface of our prejudices and distractions.

References

John, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?19 

Meditation on 1 John 2:22-28. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/01/02/1463835/ 

Murphy McMahon, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-january-2-2026 

1 John, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1john/2?22 

Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Dignity Is Non-Negotiable. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/dignity-is-non-negotiable/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Christ Stands among You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/