You are the light of the world | Matthew 5: 13-16
This Sunday’s Gospel offers two familiar images for who we are called to be: salt and light. It is important to recall that the preceding verses from Matthew are the Beatitudes (last Sunday’s Gospel). Jesus just laid out the plan for how we are to live if we want to be truly happy. Today Jesus reminds us that it is not enough to live the Beatitudes, that blessed life, in our own little world (as sadly some Christians try to do). We are called to be a light to the world and salt to the earth.
This call to evangelize sometimes has a negative connotation as if we are trying to change people, but what if evangelizing is simply sharing good news in word and deed? We hold up religious freedom and pluralism so highly that we actually devalue it by rarely fully living our own faith. The point of religious freedom isn’t to all politely keep things to ourselves or to believe the same thing but to be allowed and proud to live our faith and share it with others.
The important question for each of us is: How comfortable am I sharing my faith with others? Most of us tend to feel far more comfortable talking about our new favorite TV show or restaurant than we do about what makes us truly happy, fills our life with meaning and joy, got us through that dark patch, etc. There are so many people walking around looking for that same joy and meaning; we have the opportunity to be a light to them by living our faith in actions and words.
This week:
-mark your facebook profile as ‘Catholic’ (if it isn’t already)
-tell someone you’re praying for them (and actually do!)
-pray before your means—even if you are out in public
-invite someone to go to church with you
-do a random act of kindness
-don’t join in on the hurtful conversation
Last week I made the decision not to pray before a meal with a friend (who I knew was Catholic!) because I thought it might be weird/didn’t know how she would respond. I promise to not do that this week; not because I want to force faith on other people, but because I am going to be willing to share good things with people I care about.
1 comment:
Love this post Jonathan! So I have been praying the rosary everyday and made the decision today to not invite a friend/coworker (who is not only Catholic, but is a devout Catholic!) to pray it with me while we were on a long car ride together. I was so terrified for some reason to share faith with her. Why is that? As you said, it's time for all of us to stand up with courage and "share good things with people we care about."
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