Preserving Our Saltiness!

Thursday, May 23, 2024

Jas 5:1-6; Mk 9:41-50

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches how Christians can preserve their saltiness to enter God’s Kingdom. 

Jesus underlines the ways in which we can preserve our saltiness. 

By Charity: Jesus’ instruction on helping someone in need is symbolized in giving a cup of water. Christians are encouraged to be more charitable because a person in need is a replica of Christ himself. Our charity is simultaneously a recognition and reassurance of the Imago Dei of the person in need who has been created to live with equal dignity like everyone else. Hence, charity is acknowledging the God-given dignity of humans and upholding it generously. 

By Responsibility: When Jesus talks of someone who causes another to sin, he hints at the responsibility of the believing community to be each other’s keepers. For this reason, an individual becomes the microcosm of a community. We may reflect on Jesus’ words better if we can recall the African Ubuntu, which holds, ‘I am because we are.’ If Jesus suggests punishment for an individual who becomes an obstacle for others, the reverse is true as well. Hence, a Christian is someone who helps others to virtue. Thus, Jesus insists on the Christian community’s corporate responsibility. 

By Self-Care: Jesus extends the discussion to also govern the self. When Jesus hints at radical measures to conduct ourselves in holiness, it does not mean that violence must be done to the self. Instead, radicality is suggested to avoid sin at all costs. Not falling into sin is a profound measure of self-care itself because it helps us grow in holiness. Being virtuous or growing in virtues assumes greater importance for a Christian because we can only help others with what we have. Jesus became an unparalleled example of this truth. 

How can we keep salt in ourselves to enjoy the peace that Jesus has promised us? 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar