Ever since God entered our human history through His Son, Jesus, the world experienced a transformation. There is a big difference now compared to the pre-Christian eras. Christians made a positive difference to human civilization. From John the Baptist to all the followers of Christ, human civilization experienced a spectrum of spirituality that we can say has become the "salt of the earth and the light of the world". And the majority of Christians are like Jesus and John the Baptist - simple men and women living ordinary lives but "salting" the earth and "lighting" the world in commonplace and small ways.
When Jesus preached the Good News to the world at the time, He taught His apostles to preach that same Good News to others - Good News that would have quite a strong impact on many cultures and civilizations. It was His Apostles that were the original "salt of the earth and light of the world". The Church shares in this mission through Jesus and His apostles. After the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and the apostolic community on Pentecost Day, the Church now continues the mission of the Light of the world, by being a light to the nations.
Before the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles in tongues of fire and with a strong wind, the community at Jerusalem felt orphaned by Christ and thus lacked the strength and the courage to preach what the Lord had taught them to preach. They lived in the Cenacle, that Upper Room, where they ate the last supper with the Lord. But when the Holy Spirit became present to them with the power of a great wind and illumined their minds with gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and the fear of the Lord, they were instantly instantly were filled with God's Light.
The gospel this Sunday invites us to truly believe in Jesus and the Gospel He had taught us. Only when we understand, believe in Christ, and practice His gospel in daily living can we also be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We need not make a positive difference by changing our states of life or moving into a new neighborhood or making new friends. We can be so right were we are: in our families, in the places where we work, in our parishes and right within our neighborhood. It always begins with one small step of charity. If we practice charity in the many ways it can be done, then this will make us what Jesus, our true Light, calls us to be: "the salt of the earth and the light of the world".
