𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓’𝒔 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒌
FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A
February 8, 2026
Dear Parishioners,
Grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

“Salt of the earth” has always been a complimentary statement. A precious commodity in the ancient world, salt was at one time meted out for pay, hence the word salary (salarium). It was used to preserve food and give it a more pleasing taste. New born babies were rubbed with salt for what was thought medicinal purposes. Covenants of friendship were sealed by taking salt together (Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5). All these thoughts and more must have come to mind when Jesus said, “you are the salt of the earth, the light of the world.” Following upon the statement that the disciples would be persecuted in the same way as the prophets (Matthew 5:12), Jesus’ words indicate that henceforth they would, by their words and works, be light and salt for the earth. Matthew, in whose gospel Jesus is portrayed as the new Moses and the answer to all the Old Testament questions, saw the disciples and followers of Jesus as the new Israel.

In today’s first reading, as in Isaiah 60:3-5, the keepers of the old law are described as the light of the world by which all nations could stream to Yahweh. Jesus’ charges (you are salt, you are light, let your light shine before all) reveal a transformation through a new Moses and new law to a new Israel. All that Israel should have been for God and for all peoples is now assumed by Jesus Christ and those who would belong to his new and eternal kingdom. The verbs are not in the future tense, i.e., you will be light or salt, but rather you are. The follower of Jesus was not to wait for a kingdom to come but to recognize in Jesus and in his words and works the establishment of the reign of God. Granted, it was a kingdom proleptically present – begun and growing but not yet in full bloom. By their good works and their witness in faith to the Lord, the disciples were to convey to all people the same properties as salt: seasoning, preservative, cleanser, sign of friendship. In the same way, a failure to believe and to live a life worthy of their calling would make them tasteless and therefore useless.

A little salt, like a little leaven, goes a long way in making things better (Matthew).

Have a blessed Sunday and an amazing week!

Rev. Thomas Macauley, O.P.