5th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Fr. Leo
“Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.” (MT 5:16)
Jesus, on a very positive note, affirms that we are the light of the world. Through us the Holy Spirit is to shine, so all may see our good deeds. What affirms the goodness, or “goddess” of the light is that God is glorified in our actions, not ourselves.
If we ask what these “good deeds” may be, our first reading from Isaiah makes it clear. We are to remove from our midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; to bestow our bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted. When we do these things, the light will rise in us, and darkness shall become for us the brightness of midday.
Being faithful requires two things. First, faithfulness brings us ever more fully into oneness with God. Here we commune with God in Word and Sacrament to be feed and strengthened. From there we are to go forth to live as Christ. This requires the second aspect of discipleship, and that is action.
The sincerity of our love becomes real in our self-giving to the poor and homeless; when we bestow our bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted. When we don’t live out our faith, we remain in darkness. When our light shines, Christ is made present to others through what we say and do. This is the challenging aspect of being light for others.
We can think of all kinds of reasons why we shouldn’t sacrifice for others. We may argue we are only enabling others. And there may be some truth in that, but things change when we engage people, person to person. It is in being in-relation-to people that we become compassionate. In this the us-them relationship of distance becomes the close relationship of us, and only us.
Also, our rubbing elbows with those we help will be a blessing for us. The light of Christ in the poor and homeless will shine on us and we will be blessed. So let us pray that we may draw close to Christ in our prayer and in our being in contact and service to others. Then we will be the light, and our light will shine for all to see and God will be glorified. Through us, more people will know and come to live in Christ’s light. Darkness will vanish as God’s eternal light grows ever stronger now and forever. Amen.