Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel Reading makes us ponder how biological essentials—salt and light—mirror our spiritual needs.
GOSPEL PASSAGE: Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one, after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
REFLECTIONS:
While teaching on the Mount of Beatitudes, Jesus addressed His audience with these two beautiful titles: “You are the salt of the earth…[and] the light of the world.” Both appeal to the senses; salt to the sense of taste, and light to the sense of sight. Through them, taste and sight, we orient ourselves. An environment with the right chemical properties and the right amount of light belongs to the essentials of life.
Since ancient times, salt has been used as a preservative because it draws moisture out of food and creates an environment in which fungi, bacteria, and mold can’t thrive. (1) Salt also makes food more palatable, thus its extensive use in the food industry. (1) Even simple organisms, such as amoebae, are sensitive to the chemical characteristics of their environment and live or die depending on the salt content of the water bodies that surround them. Some can only live in salt water, and some can only live in fresh water. Placing them abruptly from one to the other makes them either puff up, or shrivel and die, thus directly affecting their survival. (2) The body’s cells require the right balance of sodium, potassium, and calcium to produce, transmit, and receive nervous impulses. (3)
Likewise, even the simplest organisms are light-sensitive. Bacteria and single-celled algae contain specialized proteins which help them to detect light for navigation. (4) Light is essential for photosynthesis, which is a chemical process through which plants use carbon dioxide, light, and water to produce nutrients and release oxygen. (4) Without the vast number of oxygen-producing phytoplankton of the oceans, or the trees of the Amazonian rain forest, which require the right amounts of salinity, light, and water to produce oxygen, human life would be impossible.
Therefore, by referring to the essentials of life, salt and light, Jesus refers to something fundamental that His followers need to nurture in order to live a life of faith. Salt refers to a set of moral values that guide their everyday decisions, and light refers to their actions that follow from an upright way of living.
In Numbers 18:19, the Old Testament makes a reference to “a covenant of salt,” indicating that God had made a special covenant with the priesthood about proclaiming God’s Word. Similarly, in Leviticus 2:13, it says that by adding salt to the offerings, the people of God are reminded of His eternal covenant and steadfastness. The Second Book of Chronicles (13:5) makes reference to an eternal “covenant of salt” with David. In Christian theology, “the covenant of salt” represents the Old Testament “covenant of salt” fulfilled in the New Testament covenant culminating in the kingship and divinity of Christ. (5)
Sodium chloride, or salt as we know it, can only lose its taste when the crystals contain impurities and do not keep the pure substance of the molecule. As Fr. Tim Peters notes, while pure salt is chemically stable, salt in the ancient world was often collected from the Dead Sea and mixed with gypsum or other minerals. When exposed to extreme humidity, the salt would dissolve away, leaving behind a tasteless, gritty residue of impurities (5). Symbolically, these impurities happen when God’s commandments are diluted with unfitting premises, or when the covenant is trespassed or ignored.
Just like an impure substance that needs to go through a physical or chemical change to regain its pure form, the people of God need to guard themselves from adopting views and practices that are contrary to the Word of God. They need to reconcile with God and rectify their ways if they fell short.
Just like salt, the chemical compound in its pure form, which Jesus uses to imply having lasting, permanent, preserving, and beneficial properties, the Gospel message is meant to be permanent, lasting, and beneficial, preserving us in the hope of eternal life. (5)
Job in the Old Testament posed the question if a tasteless thing can be eaten without salt (Job 6:6). He was referring to suffering. Can unavoidable suffering be handled without hope? In Mark’s Gospel, the expression being “salted with fire” (Mark 9:49) could refer to persecutions, trials, and injustices. In the same Gospel passage by Mark, we find the answer to “have salt in yourselves” (Mark 9:50), which means to “preserve and live the Gospel message peacefully.” (5)
The image of light and darkness has been with us since the creation of the world: God separated light from the darkness (Genesis 1:4). The same imagery is reinforced during the Exodus, when God led his people in the form of a Pillar of Cloud and Fire by night (Exodus 13:20-22), and when Isaiah spoke of the world being covered in darkness, and God’s light on His people (Isaiah 60:1-2), and prophesied of the servant of the Lord who will become “a light to all the nations” (Isa 42:7; 49:6).
The light that is to be in Christ is to be shared with the world and, as a beacon, attract all people who want to live in the light. “A city built on a hill cannot be hidden,” remarked Jesus (Matthew 5:14). What is founded on a solid foundation stands out. With this comes the danger of being visible, noticeable, and easier to attack. Jesus was referring to the persecutions and the difficulties that those who believe in God may encounter in a world that focuses on wealth and success.
The contradictions, when salt loses its flavor and is trampled underfoot, and a light is put under a basket to be hidden from sight, are presented as irrational options against the will of God. The metaphors of salt and light would have spoken clearly to Jesus’ followers who used candles and oil lamps and salt from the salt mines near the Dead Sea. One does not need to be versed in biology or chemistry to understand that something that is handled contrary to its purpose misses what it was intended for; it is not fulfilling its purpose or mission. Tasteless salt is not good for much; it is trampled underfoot. A light under a bushel basket eventually gets extinguished. With these two examples, Jesus means to illustrate that without guarding the essence and using it, relying on it, a human being cannot be spiritually alive and connected with God’s purpose.
Summing up, the Old and New Testament message is that God’s vision is to have His word brought to the nations as salt and light. While this proved to be impossible without Divine help, God sent Jesus into the world to provide reassurance and affirmation of our essence: our core that lives and moves in the realm of God.
When we feel weary, when we feel that our salt is going stale and our light is going dim, the antidote is to rekindle our connection with God for strength. We may do this with words of prayer, or with no words at all. The Catechism tells us that prayer is “a vital, personal, and covenantal relationship between God and human beings, primarily rooted in the heart.” (6) Fundamentally, it is the awareness of God’s presence. (7)
A revitalizing force comes from the awareness that God is everywhere. He is present right now, right here. He sustains our very existence. He loves us and cares for us personally. He desires to help us commit ourselves to the life we are given with love and to love as He loves. (7)
One form of prayer, silent prayer, comes from the ancient spiritual tradition of the Church. It reminds us that “silence… is not an emptiness. Stillness is not passivity. It is openness.” (7)
In a world filled with constant noise and distraction, this moment is an invitation to stop, breathe, and remember who is with you. Close your eyes. Become aware. Let God be in your heart. You too, like me, can take a moment to be silent. We can take a moment to be still. We can practice being in the presence of God. (7)
Sources:
- National Academy of Sciences (2010). Preservation and Physical Property Roles of Sodium in Foods. Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the US. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK50952/. Accessed: February 3, 2026.
- Oshima, N., Takeda, F., & Ishii, K. (1986). Responses of freshwater amoebae to salinity changes. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology. Vol. 85, Issue 3, Pages 395-399. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0300962986904196. Accessed: February 3, 2026.
- Bigler, A. (2020). Archived: Pass the Salt: Sodium’s Role in Nerve Signaling and Stress on Blood Vessels. Biobeat Blog. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Retrieved from: https://nigms.nih.gov/biobeat/2020/11/pass-the-salt-sodiums-role-in-nerve-signaling-and-stress-on-blood-vessel. Accessed: February 3, 2026.
- LePage, M. & McKenzie, D. (2010). Light Diet: Animals that eat sunshine. New Scientist. Retrieved from: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827901-100-light-diet-animals-that-eat-sunshine. Accessed: February 3, 2026.
- Peters, T. (2026). Matthew 5:13-16: The 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, Gospel Reflection. [08:40]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYBLpfZXA5o. Accessed: February 4, 2026.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (2026). Paragraphs 2558-2865. Catholic Culture. Retrieved from: www.catholicculture.org. Accessed: February 4, 2026.
- Divine Mercy (2026). Silent Prayer. Facebook Post. January 29, 2026. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=silent%20prayer%20presence%20of%20God. Accessed: February 4, 2026.