Be the Light

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?  It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.  Mt 5:13-16

When I was in the eighth grade I remember singing a song with the refrain, “we’re called to be that city, we’re called to be that city, we’re called to be that city, we’re called to be that land.” In many ways it modeled today’s Gospel. The song speaks of being light for the kingdom of God. Whenever I hear this Gospel, I often think about this song and my classmates from that time. I remember our teacher saying that we are called to be a light for others and that we must not hide our light under a bushel basket. We needed to be sure that we kept our light burning brightly for all to see. An interesting concept for thirteen-year-olds.

Right now, our world is in desperate need of light. We need to allow our individual light to shine brightly and in doing so sustain the light for others. Living in challenging times it is not always easy to keep your light shining. We need to remember that all we do is for the glory of God and that we need to be the light for others.