5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
05th February 2023 (Sunday) Readings and Reflection
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Reading of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 58:7-10
Thus says the Lord: Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
Psalm 112:4-5, 6-7, 8a and 9 (R. 4a)
R/. A light rises in the darkness for the upright. or: Alleluia.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
When I came to you, brothers I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Gospel : Matthew 5:13-16
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Identity crisis!
Indicative: There is always a pull and pressure between identity and activity, between what one is and what one does. Life becomes a trouble where there is no balance and integration between these two{alertSuccess}
1. The life of many is qualityless and directionless. The way of being, living, and doing is increasingly defective. All this points to a deeper problem of identity. There is certainly an identity crisis. Many do not understand what is their identity. Many are not even aware of their identity. Many are not convinced of their true identity. There is a lot of confusion and deviation concerning identity.
2. Consequently, the right identities are neglected and rejected. They are often regarded as “out of date” and “ineffective and useless”. In their place, false identities take over, are followed, and are glorified even. That is why many wrongly identify themselves with secondary factors and affinities like caste, region, religion, language, culture, rite, et cetera.
3. It is in this context, the word of God today clarifies what is our true identity. While Jesus in the gospel directly identifies what is our true identity, the other two readings elaborate on it. Jesus gives two simple and practical metaphors that denote our identity. They are namely, salt and light. Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth”, and “You are the light of the world”.
4. What is notable is that Jesus is not giving us not merely some do’s and don’t do’s. Note, he does not say, you are “like” the salt, or you are “like” the light. Rather, he says, you ARE the salt, and you ARE the light. Therefore, this is our identity. Our identity is “To be” the salt, and “To be” the light.
5. “Saltiness” is the essence of the salt, and “lightness or radiance” is the essence of light. In our context, it is the identity. Their qualities or functions are not just accessories or secondary factors. They are integral and “essential”, pertinent to their very identity. Devoid of these, salt and light lose their identity.
6. Accordingly, in the light of the gospel, our ‘being’ the salt implies that we must be persons who preserve our identity from deterioration and decay, who cleanse what is unclean and evil, and who add taste to that life that is tasteless and insipid. And our ‘being’ light implies that we dispel the shades of darkness, radiate light, help to see things clearly, show the way and help to walk the way.
7. In the light of the first reading from Isaiah, our identity is to be people of God, with benevolence and justice. This is to “remove oppression, false accusation and malicious speech”. This is to “share your bread with the hungry and satisfy the afflicted”. It is to “shelter the oppressed and the homeless, and clothe the naked”.
8. In the light of the second reading from 1 Corinthians, it is to be the followers of Christ with humility and surrender. It is to be people of faith that rests not on sublimity and persuasiveness of human wisdom but on the demonstration of the Spirit and power of God.
Imperative: Our greatest identity is to be Witnesses to the Lord so that seeing the light of our goodness, God may be glorified{alertSuccess}