You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father’" (Matthew 5:13-16).
This reading is an exhortation to Jesus’ followers that they are “salt of the earth” and “light to the world.” It is another example of Jesus using the stuff of life—like salt and lanterns—to illustrate his point. Salt was, and still is, used to flavor food. In the time of Jesus, it was also used to preserve and purify it. The interesting thing about salt is that once it is applied it becomes part of the food. To be salt of the earth is to be a part of creation, an integral part of the world, and the world was created good.
We come to know and see God through the stuff of the earth. Yet we are also to be the “flavor” of the earth, to enrich society. Food tastes different with salt, and through our witness, the world looks different through the perspective we bring.
Jesus also encourages us to be the “light to the world.” In the Scriptures, light is associated with God and with truth, while the absence of light is analogous to the absence of God’s presence.
When a light goes on, things that were hidden are revealed, and we can see the world around us. Jesus tells us we are light, just by being who we are. We are called to “let this light shine,” to give meaning to our world, to the people we encounter. When we let our light shine, we are better able to see the light in others, to see them for whom they really are, and not who we may have thought they were. And it can also bring clarity to situations in our lives and in our world.
- How have you responded to Jesus’ challenge to “let your light shine” so that the goodness of your actions is recognized and praise is given to God?
Adapted from Word on the Go, a downloadable resource from RENEW International.