Can you keep a lifetime commitment? - Daily Reflections February 28,2014

SALT AND LIGHT. YES AND NO.

 

Let me use yesterday’s Gospel about the metaphor of “salt and light” as a vantage point for our reflection on the readings today. What does being “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” really mean? How exactly can we accomplish that great task of following Christ?

       “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” We need to be preserved by our saltiness, and let others be preserved by our own. Sometimes, we just have the inclination to blend into the world and avoid the cost of standing up for what is right for fear of rejection, hurt, failures. But we need to be constantly on guard of our distinctive saltiness, for when we lose it, we become worthless.

       It also points to Jesus as the Source of the light that we should allow to shine at a place where it can be seen and most useful. Without a power source, we cannot be light. It is futile even to attempt to be a light on our own because soon our energy will be consumed and we will be powerless. Hence, our true role as followers of Jesus is to reflect His light so others will be drawn to the Source and not to us, the instruments. In all of the Bible’s references to light, light is not self-generated. As a symbol, light pictures the simultaneous transcendence and immanence of God: it is from above, but it permeates everyday life.

       The readings today remind us that our “yes” should always be a “yes” and our “no” a “no,” and “what God has joined together, no human must separate.” We cannot proclaim our love for one another and not become its witnesses and defenders. We need to constantly aspire to become “salt” and light,” beginning in our relationships. We cannot say we love our partner, and be unwilling to sacrifice for the sake of this love.

       May our “yes” to love be a complete “yes,” one that is willing to be “salt” which preserves, seasons and heals, and be “light” which exposes, reveals and shines. Fr. Erick Y. Santos, OFS

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Can you keep a lifetime commitment?

 

Lord Jesus, may I learn to value and safeguard the sanctity of matrimony.