“You are the salt of the earth…
you are the light of the world.”
Salt and light, in and of themselves,
are not where their greatest value lies.
Their greatest value is when they are added to something else.
For example, you cannot eat salt on its own.
But when just a little bit of salt is put on food,
it adds great flavor to the food.
A little bit more and you can pickle it or preserve that food.
It has preservative qualities.
But too much of it will destroy the food and will be of no use.
Light, in itself, can be blinding; we cannot see with total light.
But in the midst of darkness, just a little bit of light
shines enough for all to see.
It is this sense of not “what it is” but “what it can be for others”
is the very point that Christ is trying to get across
to his disciples in the gospel about discipleship itself.
He calls them salt of the earth and the light in the world.
They are called to share what they have with the world;
sprinkle it around and add zest; add flavor to the world.
They are not called to hold onto the light
but to shine the light for all to see
so that it can be light in this darkened world.
And this very theme of light is used over and over again in scripture.
We hear in the first reading about how
the light comes into the world when we do actions of goodness;
feed the hungry; shelter the unhoused.
You see the Lord is trying to tell us it is not
how much time, talent or treasure we have
but it is how we use that time, talent, or treasure
to add flavor to the whole world;
to light the darkened world;
to give meaning to the world;
to give joy to the world.
Let me give you an example:
For many years, this parish has been going to Tijuana
with a group called BASICS.
It is a collaboration among several different parishes
and I want to say they have been going down for maybe 17 years.
They go there to build homes
and to improve the lives of others.
Joan Mibach and I went to Tijuana on Friday for a day trip.
I know, crazy, a long day trip, very long day trip.
We flew to San Diego
and then joined two other members of BASIC team,
went across the border met with the team
at the Tijuana parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary.
We scouted the houses that we hope
to build or to replace during the summer.
Then at the end of the day, we met with the pastor there, Fr. Jesse,
who is an American priest on assignment
with the Oblates of the Immaculate Mary.
Talk about a light on the hill to all nations!
Let me just give you some background about the parish.
They have 2,600 parish families,
which is in their number about 12,000 active people.
They go to 9 different churches all around Tijuana
and there is a minimum of 11 different Sunday Masses.
There are just 2 priests in 7 different churches.
They have 260 in the high school youth group;
and I think over 2,000 in the catechical program.
Their program is massive.
It is built on a hill of different levels.
This parish and the people who have been going down there
all these years have been building up this parish
have been doing amazing ministry and continue to do so.
The vision of this pastor, Fr. Jesse, is just incredible!
Talk about salt of the earth and light to the world!
Now that is the light of the world!
We are happy to be a part of this powerful ministry in Tijuana.
We want to go there again this summer in July
and this is exactly what we ought to be doing.
As a parish we have been blessed with so much
but the tendency is to just kind of hold on.
But we have to share that light.
We have to share that salt with the world
not just with ourselves in our little ole community in Los Altos.
We should do that but we have enough to share with the whole world
and certainly with Tijuana and beyond.
We shouldn’t be sending just 20 there.
We should be sending 200 missionaries down there this summer.
Why? Because we can.
Because we ought to.
Because we have the salt.
We have the light.
And we are called to share it
because it gives value to all.
When we visited these Tijuana homes,
we found devastating poverty.
We can see what they are living in and how they are living;
that’s just not right for human beings;
and they earn so little money that it is a vicious cycle of poverty.
And we can help them!
We don’t have to give all our money away.
We don’t have to give all our time away.
We don’t have to give all our talent away.
I am not asking for that.
But one week during the summer?
It is not too much to ask;
a couple of dollars to transform another person’s life?
That is what I mean about sharing
our time, our talent, and our treasure.
I know that not everybody can go on a mission trip.
I get that. Not everybody is able to go.
And maybe it’s the time.
And maybe it’s the endurance.
This weekend, we begin our Annual Diocesan Appeal
and we can all participate in the Annual Diocesan Appeal
to help other parishes in our diocese.
We are also partnering with a parish
that is eerily similar to that parish in Tijuana.
But it is in our own backyard.
It is Christ the King.
It has 11 Masses on a Sunday.
There are only 2 priests.
And they are wanting to build an extension to their Rectory
so that they can house a 3rd priest and get some relief.
We cannot give to them until we have reached our goal
for the Annual Diocesan Appeal (ADA).
So we are asking you to get involved.
It is time that we share the gifts that we have;
we have such precious gifts of time, of talent and of treasure
but we are called to share them with the world;
to put that light on a lampstand so all can see;
to be the salt of the earth so we can add flavor to this world.
My friends today as we celebrate the many gifts of our lives,
among them the Scouts who we celebrate today at this Mass.
They are involved in so many activities here locally
and build up the community around us.
They are a light to our own community around us.
We are called to go one step further;
we are called to share a little bit more of
our time, talent and treasure in service, in action and in kind.
That is how we become the salt of the earth
and how we can share the light of the world,
who is Christ the Light.
“You are the salt of the earth…
you are the light of the world.”
