Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
INTRO:
I have three sisters
The youngest: creative cooking
Enthusiastic
Color on the plate
Herbs
Innovative!!!!!
The middle sister: also a wonderful cook and hostess!
Now there is
The oldest SISTER: NO ONE wants to go over to her house!!!!!!!… For dinner!!!!
We do go over, but the SILENT comment, with rolled eyes…….everything is BLAND and she doesn’t cook with salt!
YUK!!!
How we all love a good meal!!!
ASK…KIDS, what’s your favorite meal??
Yes, we love a good meal, but let’s not be mistaken……
For a GOOD MEAL to be GOOD……….
It’s not about the food,
But, the effect that one has around the table with each other.
It’s the dinner conversation
It’s the respect and listening that goes on during the eating part
IT’S NOT THE SALTED FOOD THAT makes a good meal a GOOD MEAL!
IT’S the PEOPLE at the table!!!!
Yes, Jesus uses a SALT image which makes you think of food, …………….BUT, really, may I ask you to LOOK BEYOND FOR A MOMENT?
He is really talking about
PEOPLE
A Community
A CHURCH assembly
He is talking about God’s creation of a MAN AND WOMAN
He is giving us a lesson on creation that we ALL of us are good inside. We aren’t bad inside, we aren’t created wrongly. We are in His image and we are to be proud of that creation and use it to the best of our abilities!
You see when we BELIEVE we are good…GREAT THINGS HAPPEN to us and to OTHERS, because of us! When we believe we have the potency of salt within us, nothing can stop us from doing what God wants AND if we believe this about our neighbors!!!! …… those in front us seated here, those behind us …. Those we do not know but, those we meet in stores, on the street ………
WHEN WE PERSONALLY BELIEVE IN OUR WORTH and the beautiful worth of our neighbors ……THE MOST WONDERFUL THINGS HAPPEN IN OUR LIVES FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS!!!!
CONCLUSION
You must know the church has some pretty STRICT rules and one rule is a food rule
The recipe for communion bread….ironically, it is made without additives (NO SALT)!!!!
Maybe that is because we are the salt of the earth!
We complete ourselves with the REAL PRESENCE of JESUS CHRIST!
So, Love yourselves as God loves you…you have it within YOU!
YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH!