5th Sunday of the Year (A)

Reflections for liturgical years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

February 9, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 58:6-10
Psalm 112
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Matthew 5:13-16

"A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

Commenting on this Sunday's gospel in Matthew 5:13-16, St. Chromatius (an outstanding scholar and prelate in the 4th century) wrote:
"The Lord called His disciples the salt of the earth because they seasoned with heavenly wisdom the hearts of men, rendered insipid by the devil...He calls them the light of the world as well, because they have been enlightened by Him, the true and everlasting Light, and have themselves become a light in the darkness."

Stories about the foundation of the city of Rome say that it was built on seven hills. Rome in the first centuries of the first millenium, was the life and center of the Roman Empire. It became the city where the successor of St. Peter governed the universal Church. The light which the Church in Rome enlightens all her children, is a light sourced from Christ, the true Light of the world. And the wisdom by which she seasons the hearts of the faithful, is a wisdom that is eternal: Christ, the eternal wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:25).

Being Christian has been difficult for early Christians in the first centuries. Humanity's senses at the time were often misled by a wisdom that is not gospel. Some were tempted to follow heresies that are not rooted in liturgical practice and tradition. But there were followers of Christ, like the martyrs and St. Chromatius, who continued to season and enlighten her members. Anyone faithful to Christ in the Church and in the world were seasoned and enlightened with the faith needed to stand firm amidst difficulties and trials. The spiritual discipline that preserves this "salt and light" made the city of God strong in witness and good works for the many centuries to follow.

Scripture quotes for reflection:
Your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed (Isaiah 58)
The Lord dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright (Psalm 112)
They set the lamp on a stand where it gives light to all in the house (Matthew 5)