Shine Brightly

A Reflection on the Gospel for February 9th, 2020:
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

​Matthew 5

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before human beings, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

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​For reasons that will be somewhat obvious to many of my oldest friends in Christ, I love this reading. This was the theme of World Youth Day – a special festival started by Saint John Paul II for the Catholic youth of the world – in 2002, the year it was hosted in Toronto. It was also the theme of my work’s National Conference from 2018 – it was hosted in Halifax. The question of both events was one and the same – how can we be salt and light in this world?
 
We’ve been led to believe that we are living in the most woke age. And it’s not entirely untrue. My generation has seen a glaring light shone on the darkest secrets and love poured into places hatred once lived. We are combatting abuse, sexism, racism, and bigotry all around us. Canada has healthcare for all and is poised to do the same with pharmacare. We have a social safety net for the unemployed. We have a network of homeless shelters and food banks. We have free grade school and secondary education for all.
 
And yet at the same time we see a turning away from and rejection of faith in the first world (or the minority world as it should be better known). As Christians, have we failed to be salt and light? Have we relied on the government to legislate the good for those around us? We’ve allowed others to tell us to keep our faith out of the public square, putting our lights under a bushel because we have abdicated our role of service to the paid government. I wonder what good it has done. It was never our aim to entrust the government with all of our good work at the cost of our witness. We do not have to accept this exchange of good works for our voice. When we entrust the good works we’ve been called to do to the world, we see how quickly care turns into care when it’s convenient. Budgets for education and medicine are slashed while corporations are given tax breaks. Our elderly are asked to live on an increasingly miserly pension. Our sick and weak are offered euthanasia rather than care.
 
Now is the time to re-claim our voice and be unafraid to speak out for the truest gift of Christ – adoption as sons and daughters of God. Jesus’ words remind us of the truth – we are strangers in a strange land. We are to be a city on the hill, not hidden, but shining brightly. We are to be salt, standing out in the mix and bringing Christ to those around us. Let your light shine out. Don’t be afraid not to be bland. This is no time to abdicate our duty to care for our brothers and sisters. This is the time to take up the work and preach the Good News.

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Stephanie Potter

Photo by Paul Dufour on Unsplash

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