Faith-Salt and Light-St. Ephrem

WEEKDAY HOMILY 10 02 – Year II

Salt of the Earth; Light of the World:

Optional Memorial of St. Ephrem

(1 Kgs 17:7-16; Ps 4; Mt 5:13-16)

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Have you ever heard the expression, “She or he is worth his or her salt?” That saying probably comes from the value of salt as currency in the ancient world – people were sometimes paid in salt. Perhaps the word “earning a salary” comes from that same source.

Whatever truth there may be to the above conjectures, the readings today present us with a clear truth and message – we are to be salt of earth and light of the world.

It is no accident Jesus chose these two symbols to describe the qualities of a disciple. Salt is a powerful spice, adding flavor to food and acting as a preservative. It also works invisibly in whatever food on which it is sprinkled. In a similar way, a candle burns quietly, giving of itself to illuminate the darkest room, and throws off a warmth reflecting the warmth of God’s love for us all. Two powerful symbols holding within themselves the impact a follower of Jesus is to have on the world.

There are two specific ways we can be salt and light to the world – by our faith, and by our actions.

The first reading provides us with an almost unbelievable model of faith – that of the poor widow of Zeraphath. Driven to destitution by drought and down to the last morsel of food she was preparing before she and her child would die of starvation, when asked for that food by the prophet Elijah, her faith in God’s providence, and her ability to love a neighbor as herself (Leviticus 19:18) was so strong, she gave him that last bit of food. Her faith was rewarded, as the “jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail.” Would that we had her faith!

Psalm 4 invites us to persevere in prayer: Even when we are disturbed, and when we are crying out to God to hear our prayer, we are “not to sin, but rather ponder the word of the Lord on our beds and be silent.” This speaks of the experience of the apparent absence of God in our lives Jesus experienced on the cross: “My God, why have you forsaken me?” That experience is given to those whose faith is strong – like St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta who experienced only dryness and a lack of any consolation in her prayer life from the time she began her ministry in Calcutta to her death.

Our faith is not as strong as hers, so we will get only small doses of that experience of desolation. In fact, that is what we ask for in the Our Father when we pray “Lead us not into temptation.” The better translation of that is “Do not put us to the test” – the test being precisely that experience of the apparent absence of God in our lives.

The other way we can be salt and light to the world is through our action, good works and ministry. We are to use our God-given gifts and talents to make the world a better place. This is our generative discipleship, and we should not be shy or hesitant to do so.

A quote from Marianne Williamson (A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”), often mistakenly attributed to Nelson Mandela, is relevant here: “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. You playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.”

A young girl touring a cathedral asked the tour guide who the persons were in the stained-glass windows. The guide responded they were saints. That evening the girl told her mother she knew who the saints were. Curious, her mother asked her who they were. “They are people who let God’s light shine through them,” she replied. In that simple insight, this little girl captured the teachings of Jesus asking us to be salt and light for the world.

One such person we honor today is St. Ephrem, who lived from about 306 to 373. Born in Mesopotamia, Ephrem was baptized at 18 and eventually became a deacon, but he humbly refused ordination to the priesthood. After the fall of his home city to the Persians in 363, Ephrem retired to a life of solitude in a cave to write commentaries and hymns. Recognizing the power of music and poetry to evangelize, he was the first to introduce hymns into public worship. Called “The Harp of the Holy Spirit,” he died at Edessa on June 9^th. In 1920, he was declared a Doctor of the Church.

The Eucharist is God’s love in Jesus on the Cross, made present and shining on us through God’s Word and the body and blood of Jesus.

May our celebration empower us to be salt and light to the world, and let God’s light shine through us, as did St. Ephrem.