This week, the call to discipleship continues, and Jesus tries his best to explain that being a disciple calls for great courage and conviction. Dare to make a difference! Here then is my reflection, as it was delivered today to the gathered crowds. I can only hope that it will make a difference in someone's life. Listen in or read on:
Against the tide
Believe it or not, most weeks when I first sit to prepare my reflection, I'm anxious. What do the readings say this week? How will they challenge me? How can I explain this challenge to others? Sometimes, even after seeing the readings, these questions still persist ... and then I think of some of the individuals who have been examples of faith for me. They're the ones who have often challenged me to grow because when they speak about faith, about God, about their reason for doing what they do in life, it's evident that they're swimming against the tide. Let me explain.
There's a part of my brain that gets stuck sometimes thinking only about earthly things. Most of the time these things have to do with me and how I'm getting along: how much money do I have in the bank? Is it enough? What tasks do I have to accomplish today? Then every so often I meet someone who appears at least to have little if any concern at all for these concerns of mine. Instead, they seem to have an ability to persuade me to see things another way, to do things that make little or no sense at all by human reasoning ... but that's what makes these people so intriguing. Some examples of such people might include Jean Vanier, Mother Theresa, and Pope John Paul but there are others like Craig Kielburger, who as a young boy himself began to speak up for children in third world countries who are forced to provide child labour. Because of his conviction, there are now more than one million children helping children in 45 countries.
Craig's story is compelling because he has dared to speak out against the establishment, and to point out an injustice that must be corrected. Isn't this what the gospel tells us we should all do? In today's gospel, Jesus presents this call in a most vivid fashion, but in order for us to understand it, we need a bit of background. In the ancient biblical world, salt was a most precious commodity, associated with longevity and permanence. In a time long before the marvels of refrigeration had been invented, salt was the principal fashion of preserving food. Loyalty and friendship were sealed with salt because its essence does not change. In both Islam and Judaism, salt seals a bargain because it is immutable. In Christianity, salt is associated not only with longevity and permanence but also with truth and wisdom. Our Church dispenses not only holy water, but also holy salt, the Salt of Wisdom.
Salt gives flavor and zest to food. It also makes people thirst for more. Jesus wanted his disciples to give flavor and zest to the world through his teaching. He still asks us to do the same: to preserve the truth as he proclaimed it and to make the world thirst for more. Salt is an appropriate metaphor for discipleship because like salt, discipleship can seal the deal, but only if we're willing to work at it, to commit ourselves every day. Otherwise, we can and will quickly loose interest. Like the apostle Paul, we are not required to use lofty words or wisdom to speak the message. In fact, it is more often the case that when we recognize our own weakness, we can begin to rejoice because God uses our weakness to demonstrate His strength, and when God's strength takes over, his light can shine brightly.
Jesus came into the world to bring us the light of faith, but this light is only recognized when we first are made aware of the flavor of the gospel, and the injustices that exist all around us. Further, our faith compels us to speak out on behalf of those who are imprisoned by these injustices, and to keep doing so until the injustice is corrected. Against the lights of the big city, it's not easy to let Christ's light shine. The only way to do it is to swim against the tide.
Against the tide
Believe it or not, most weeks when I first sit to prepare my reflection, I'm anxious. What do the readings say this week? How will they challenge me? How can I explain this challenge to others? Sometimes, even after seeing the readings, these questions still persist ... and then I think of some of the individuals who have been examples of faith for me. They're the ones who have often challenged me to grow because when they speak about faith, about God, about their reason for doing what they do in life, it's evident that they're swimming against the tide. Let me explain.
There's a part of my brain that gets stuck sometimes thinking only about earthly things. Most of the time these things have to do with me and how I'm getting along: how much money do I have in the bank? Is it enough? What tasks do I have to accomplish today? Then every so often I meet someone who appears at least to have little if any concern at all for these concerns of mine. Instead, they seem to have an ability to persuade me to see things another way, to do things that make little or no sense at all by human reasoning ... but that's what makes these people so intriguing. Some examples of such people might include Jean Vanier, Mother Theresa, and Pope John Paul but there are others like Craig Kielburger, who as a young boy himself began to speak up for children in third world countries who are forced to provide child labour. Because of his conviction, there are now more than one million children helping children in 45 countries.
Craig's story is compelling because he has dared to speak out against the establishment, and to point out an injustice that must be corrected. Isn't this what the gospel tells us we should all do? In today's gospel, Jesus presents this call in a most vivid fashion, but in order for us to understand it, we need a bit of background. In the ancient biblical world, salt was a most precious commodity, associated with longevity and permanence. In a time long before the marvels of refrigeration had been invented, salt was the principal fashion of preserving food. Loyalty and friendship were sealed with salt because its essence does not change. In both Islam and Judaism, salt seals a bargain because it is immutable. In Christianity, salt is associated not only with longevity and permanence but also with truth and wisdom. Our Church dispenses not only holy water, but also holy salt, the Salt of Wisdom.
Salt gives flavor and zest to food. It also makes people thirst for more. Jesus wanted his disciples to give flavor and zest to the world through his teaching. He still asks us to do the same: to preserve the truth as he proclaimed it and to make the world thirst for more. Salt is an appropriate metaphor for discipleship because like salt, discipleship can seal the deal, but only if we're willing to work at it, to commit ourselves every day. Otherwise, we can and will quickly loose interest. Like the apostle Paul, we are not required to use lofty words or wisdom to speak the message. In fact, it is more often the case that when we recognize our own weakness, we can begin to rejoice because God uses our weakness to demonstrate His strength, and when God's strength takes over, his light can shine brightly.
Jesus came into the world to bring us the light of faith, but this light is only recognized when we first are made aware of the flavor of the gospel, and the injustices that exist all around us. Further, our faith compels us to speak out on behalf of those who are imprisoned by these injustices, and to keep doing so until the injustice is corrected. Against the lights of the big city, it's not easy to let Christ's light shine. The only way to do it is to swim against the tide.
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