The exiles who returned from Babylon had hoped for a quick restoration of their beloved capital Jerusalem, but completion of that project was frustratingly slow. The people wondered why their suffering was so prolonged, and the prophet Isaiah told them that the main problem was their unwillingness to share God’s blessings with others.  Hence, the prophet gives examples of how they were to allow the light of God to shine through them:  “Share your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.   Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday” (58:7, 10).  The Prophet Isaiah speaks in terms of justice and compassionate care for the weak, needy, and vulnerable because it is through them that the very goodness of God is revealed, and the disciple’s light will shine like the dawn. Alleviating the suffering of the oppressed and tending to the needs of others are the activities which produce light. It is by avoiding malice and by comforting the afflicted, that we enable others to see and experience the light of the Lord’s favor. Today’s Gospel also reminds us of our duty to become salt and light and tells us that the best means to do so is by sharing our blessings sacrificially with others. The Responsorial Psalm corroborates this, saying “The just person is a light in darkness to the upright.” The psalmist’s assertion, “The Lord is my light,” is echoed in Jesus’ words “I am the Light of the world; the man who follows me will have the Light of Life.”

St. Paul learned the lesson from his experience in Athens that his human eloquence did not help his missionary work. Hence, in Corinth Paul says that he chose not to rely on human eloquence, “so that your Faith might rest, not on human wisdom, but on the power of God.” So, Paul started preaching only on Christ crucified in Corinth and instructed the intellectuals in Corinth to learn the lesson of self-sacrifice from the crucified Christ. 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. St. Paul’s experience teaches us that when we start doing good to others, even if it costs us suffering and death, it will demonstrate God’s Spirit and power, and we will become the salt of the earth and the light of the world that Jesus challenges us to become in today’s Gospel.

i) A light is something which is meant to be seen.  (The lamp in Palestine was like a sauce-boat full of oil with a wick floating in it.  When people went out, for safety’s sake, they took the lamp from its stand and put it under an earthen bushel measure, so that it might burn without risk until they came back).  Christians must be visible like a “city” on a hilltop and a lamp on a “lamp stand.”  Jesus therefore expects His followers to be seen by the world (Jn 13:35; 17:21). In addition, they must radiate and give light.  “Let your light shine before men” (Mt 5:16).  By this metaphor Jesus means that our Christianity should be visible in the ordinary activities of the world, for example, in the way we treat a shop assistant across the counter, in the way we order a meal in a restaurant, in the way we treat our employees or serve our employer, in the way we play a game or drive or park a motor car, in the daily language we use, in the daily literature we read.

(ii) A lamp or light is a guide to make clear the way.  So then, a Christian must make the way clear to others.  That is to say, a Christian must of necessity be an example.  “The light which Jesus speaks of in the Gospel is the light of Faith, God’s free gift, which enlightens the heart and clarifies the mind.  It is the God who said, ‘Let Light shine out of darkness,’ Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Christ’ (2 Cor 4:6).  Our personal encounter with Christ bathes life in new Light, sets us on the right path, and sends us out to be his witnesses.” (Youth Day message by Pope St. John Paul II).  It is the Christian’s duty to take a stand which the weaker brother will support, to give the lead which those with less courage will follow.  The world needs its guiding lights.  There are people waiting and longing for a leader to take a stand and to do the thing which they do not dare by themselves.

iii) A light can often be a warning light.  A light is often the warning which tells us to halt when there is danger ahead.  It is sometimes the Christian’s duty to bring to his fellowmen a necessary warning.  If our warnings are given, not in anger, not in irritation, not in criticism, not in condemnation, but in love, they may be effective.

iv) Light exposes everything hidden by darkness. (Note Jn 3:19; 1 Cor 4:5; Eph 5:8–11).  When our teens, baptized and confirmed, get pregnant and do drugs at the same rate as the general teenage population; when our marriages end in divorce at the same rate as the rest of society; when we cheat in business, or lie, steal, and cheat on our spouses at the same statistical level as those who say they are not Christians — something is wrong.  Let us pause for a moment and ask ourselves whether we are carrying the Light which can be seen, the Light which warns, the Light which guides. These are the Lights which God shines through our Christian living.