Sunday Gospel reflections: A Gospel to-do list
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Your light must shine before others. (Matthew 5:16)
As we launch into this day, many of us have a number of things planned. Our “to do” list looms before our mind’s eye, waiting for us to begin. We do our best to keep up with our daily responsibilities.
But Sunday’s Gospel gives us another to-do list. We are tasked to be “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.” As God’s salt, we are to bring spiritual savor to others, and as God’s light, we are to shine with God’s brilliance.
Are we to set aside our to-do list for God’s list? No. Rather, a kind word to the supermarket cashier, a word of thanks to the maintenance staff, a thoughtful call to a suffering neighbor, such as these are moments of salt and light. In the midst of our daily duties, we are to shine with God’s goodness and love, and thus we are salt and light for the world.
— Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti
Isaiah 58:7-10
Psalm 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Matthew 5:13-16