ordinary time The Sánchez Archives

FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Year A

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Taste and See!

ISAIAH 58:7-10
1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5
MATTHEW 5:13-16

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Centuries before Jesus, an unnamed psalmist invited his contemporaries to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord” (Ps 34:9). An acrostic or alphabetic composition, Psalm 34 has been classified as a thanksgiving prayer by which the gathered assembled praised God for yet another of their many experiences of him as deliverer and savior. Tasting and seeing refer to that knowledge which has been gained, not through any didactic process, but in an existential or experiential manner. As the late Carroll Stuhlmueller once explained, tasting and seeing issue forth in what “the scholastics called ‘knowledge by connaturality,’ knowledge that comes from being the kind of person we are.” (Psalms I, Michael Glazier, Inc., Wilmington: 1983). When Jesus addressed his disciples as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, he thereby charged each of his followers to be the kind of person in whom others could taste and see the goodness of the Lord. In other words, Jesus called his own to live in such a way that others could come to a personal knowledge and experience of the saving presence of God in their lives.

Underscoring their necessity, the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (23-79 C.E.) wrote, “Nil utilius sole et sale”; there is nothing more useful than sunlight and salt (Natural History 31:102). Without a careful balance of salt and light, living things cannot function, develop or grow. By defining his followers in these terms, Jesus signified that faithful commitment to him and integrity in both word and deed are necessary to the proper functioning development and growth of the kingdom and each of its members (gospel).

In the first reading the prophet Isaiah explored those actions by which his people could experience God’s light and dispel the darkness in their world. To alleviate the suffering of the oppressed, to tend to the needs of others. . . these are the activities which produce light. In avoiding malice and by satisfying the afflicted, believers make it possible for others to see and experience the light of the Lord’s favor.

For his part, Paul (second reading) had to contend with some in the Corinthian community who regarded themselves as an elite, “illuminati”, possessed of special wit and wisdom. The apostle called the believers in Corinth to forego human sophistry and self-aggrandizement in order to taste and see the wisdom of God as revealed in the cross of Jesus.

Salt and light, tasting and seeing are earthy, concrete terms for defining discipleship and membership in the kingdom. Each of these elements also recalls the initial commitment which every believer has made in baptism. (In the Roman Ritual, for the solemn Baptism of adults and children, salt is put into the mouth of the one to be baptized as a sign of cleansing and as a symbol of the grace and wisdom of Christ which preserves from the corruption of sin. A lighted candle is given to the newly baptized as a sign of their new life in Christ.)

Today, once again, we are invited to taste the salt of his word and wisdom and to open our eyes to see the light of his love and will for us. Then when we have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord, we shall be renewed in the ministry of being salt and light for the world.

ISAIAH 58:7-10

After World War II, a conflict which resulted in more than 54 million fatalities worldwide, many years passed before the survivors experienced any degree of wholeness again. Healing takes time. After recovering from a life-threatening illness or a serious surgical procedure, patients usually require protracted periods of rest and recuperation. Healing takes time. When a spouse, relative or friend has died, it is necessary for the bereaved to allow themselves to grieve their loss and to find some measure of closure. Healing takes time. When the contemporaries of Trito or Third-Isaiah returned from exile in Babylonia (ca. 538 B.C.E.), they came home to a land still darkened by the ordeal of defeat and humiliation; the process through which they were healed took time. During this time of healing the prophets kept their people mindful of God’s constant presence.

Ezekiel had explained that the pall of gloom which hung over the defeated nation was due to the absence of the presence of God, resulting from the peoples’ infidelities to law and covenant. In one of his several visions of Judah’s demise, Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord, which filled the temple with its brilliance, take leave (Ezekiel 10:18). Later, in one of his visions of restoration, the prophet saw the Lord’s glory return to brighten the temple and his people once again (Ezekiel 43:2-6). There in the renewed presence of God, healing and rehabilitation could begin.

For the contemporaries of Ezekiel and Trito-Isaiah, part of the lengthy healing process took the form of reconstruction. Infrastructures, both physical and spiritual had to be rebuilt. But, roadways and buildings are far more easy to reconstruct than relationships and religious fervor. In an effort to foster the healing of his people, the prophet prescribed a program of spiritual exercises which were intended to renew their inward spirit and to reinstate his contemporaries as God’s specially loved and covenanted people.

Part of a longer section on fasting (Isaiah 58:1-14), this pericope reminds its readers that penance for wrongdoing is little more than empty ritual unless it translates into some form of positive ministry. Fasting, without attentiveness to the needs of others is tantamount to pious dieting. As Wilfrid Harrington explained, “Fasting ought to establish a common bond of weakness between rich and poor: only the wealthy have something of which to deprive themselves, and in the state of fasting, they express solidarity with the permanently fasting, the poor.” (The Saving Word, Michael Glazier, Inc. Wilminton: 1980).

For this reason, the prophet promised that healing would occur (“your would shall quickly be healed”) and the light of God’s presence and glory would once again be enjoyed (“your light shall break forth like the dawn . . . the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard”) when the deeds of others would be tended as carefully as God would tend them.

In other words, the spiritual infrastructure of Judah, viz. the covenantal relationship with the Lord, would be healed when the bonds between the brothers and sisters of the covenant would be similarly healed through the sharing of bread, the sheltering of the homeless, the clothing of the naked and the helping of the oppressed.

Today, we who are charged to be salt and light are also privileged to taste and see the Lord’s goodness at this Eucharistic feast. Having been fed, illumined, and healed we are called to take the time to extend similar healing and nurture to those in need.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5

John A. Hutton (1868-1947), a Presbyterian minister, editor (The British Weekly), and author was particularly fond of telling stories of life-changing events or conversions. On one occasion, he related the experience of a man who had been a habitual drunkard and a reprobate until he heard and believed in the good news of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. After his conversion, the man’s friends and colleagues questioned his radically altered life style. “Surely, a sensible person such as yourself puts no credence in miracles, do you?”, they cajoled. “You can’t really believe that Jesus turned water into wine!” In answer, the man said, “Whether he turned water into wine or not, I do not know; but in my own house, I have seen him turn beer into furniture!” (told by William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, The St. Andrew Press, Edinburgh: 1975).

When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, he too was of the conviction that Christ had made a definitive difference in his life. for that reason, he preached plainly and powerfully of the salvation which had been wrought by the cross of Christ. Paul was, of course, well aware of the Greek propensity for new and fascinating philosophical systems. Recall his experience at Athens (Acts 17:22-31) when Paul had attempted to appeal to his Greek hearers in philosophical terms. His argument was unconvincing to the capricious Athenians, who scoffed at him and summarily dismissed him. But Paul was also aware that it is faith and not philosophy which effects life-changing events or conversions.

Therefore he dared to preach what was to his hearers an absurdity, viz. a crucified Christ. To the Greeks, the cross was a contradiction in terms; to the Jews it seemed a scandal and a blasphemy. But, as F. F. Bruce has pointed out, when Paul persisted in preaching Jesus as the suffering Savior, the unexpected happened. “Pagans, as well as Jews and God-fearers believed the message and found their lives transformed by a new, liberating power, which broke the stranglehold of selfishness and vice and purified them from within. The message of Christ crucified had thus accomplished something which no body of Greek philosophic teaching could have done for them.” (Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., Grand Rapids: 1991).

Paul’s words were intended to remind the Corinthians of the true basis of their faith and the crux (!) of their salvation. Today his wise counsel reminds his modern readers, to be similarly centered on Christ, whose cross has forever changed the way we live and die.

MATTHEW 5:13-16

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) was a legal historian and philosopher when he was appointed to serve as justice of the United States Supreme Court. Acknowledged as one of the most notable jurists of his age, Holmes was greatly missed when he resigned from the Supreme Court at the age of 91. In a letter written by his fellow justices, Holmes was highly praised, “Your profound learning and philosophical outlook have found expression in opinions which have become classic, enriching the literature of the law as well as its substance. . . while we are losing the privilege of daily companionship, the most precious memories of your unfailing kindliness and generous nature abide with us and these memories will be one of the choicest traditions of the Court.” When Jesus called disciples to follow in his way, he was in effect, commissioning them to make a difference in their world, and in the lives of those among whom they lived. . . just as Justice Holmes did.

On one occasion Holmes remarked, “Life is a profound and passionate thing. . . it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time, at the peril of being judged never to have lived.” In another telling comment Holmes revealed his impression of those who, in his day, should have been salt and light, but whose zest for life seemed somewhat lacking: “I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers!” Obviously, Holmes, like Jesus, expected much of those who were called to ministry: Jesus’ expectations were expressed both in his warning against insipidness and dimness, and in his mandate to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Besides imparting flavor to food, salt was regarded as a symbol of permanence because of its preservative qualities. Since it prevented corruption, salt was also used to season sacrifices and incense in the temple (Leviticus 2:13, Exodus 30:35, Ezekiel 43:24). Newborn babies were rubbed with salt to toughen and protect them; covenants were sealed with salt as a sign of their perpetuity (Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5). When soldiers of the Roman army were paid, they also received an allotment of salt; from this practice the word salary is derived. Because of its importance for life and health, the Greeks referred to salt as theion or divine.

Most of the salt in ancient Israel came from the Dead Sea area, which has an extremely high salinity, ca. 25 per cent. Water, drawn from the Dead Sea was allowed to evaporate in the hot desert sun; the remaining substance contained a high concentration of salt as well as many impurities. A purer supply of salt was mined from the cliffs and rock formations near the Dead Sea. One particularly large source, still in evidence today, is a cliff of rock salt called Jebel Udsum (ca. six miles long and 650 feet high). Because wind erosion creates unusual shapes and images in the cliff, Arabs living in the area have given personal names to some of the figures. This phenomenon may have contributed to the narrative about Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26).

The major source of light in the ancient world was, of course, the sun and its obvious usefulness need not be belabored. Because of its essential nature, the rabbis taught that light is a symbol for the law and that the law abiding people of Israel were to serve as light for the world (Rabba to Song of Songs 1:3). Rabbinic literature also included a reference to Moses as a lamp on a lamp stand (Sifre, Numbers) and the Hebrew scriptures contain similar references to Israel, the law, and Jerusalem as light (Psalm 119, Isaiah 42:6, 49:6).

As commodities necessary for life and well-being, salt and light readily lend themselves as symbols of discipleship. Jesus’ followers were called and are still called to be persons whose lives illumine, guide, and reflect the goodness of Christ, who is the light of the world. So also, are Christians to impart passion, flavor, purity and permanence to their relationships with one another and with God. To be salt and light is to make it a daily possibility for others to taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

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