Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 5:13-16
ONE OF THE THINGS DEACONS AND PRIESTS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO IS WRITE DOWN ALL THE DETAILS FOR THEIR FUNERALS, AND FILE THEM WITH THE DIOCESE. IT SOUNDS A LITTLE MORBID, DOESN'T IT? BUT IT'S NOT SUCH A BAD IDEA. IT TAKES A HUGE BURDEN OFF OF THE PEOPLE YOU'VE LEFT BEHIND, WHO WILL HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS WITHOUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
PART OF THE TASK IS TO SELECT THE MUSIC AND THE READINGS FOR THE FUNERAL MASS. I'M NOT MUCH OF A MUSIC PERSON, ALTHOUGH I LIKE TO SING. BUT MY FAVORITE PIECE OF SACRED MUSIC IS SHUBERT'S AVE MARIA, SO I'VE PUT THAT DOWN. ONE OF MY FAVORITE NON-SACRED PIECES IS THE STONE'S “SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL”, WHICH PROBABLY WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR MY FUNERAL, ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T ASKED MY WIFE WHAT SHE THINKS YET.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GOSPEL, THE FIRST READING, THE SECOND READING? WHAT WOULD REFLECT YOUR LIFE, WHAT READINGS WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR LOVED ONES TO ASSOCIATE WITH YOU?
WOULD ANYONE PICK THE READINGS FROM TODAY? I'D BE ASHAMED TO, BUT I WISH I COULD. BECAUSE THESE VERY SHORT READINGS GIVE US THE ESSENCE OF WHAT GOD WANTS FROM US. AND IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU KNOW YOU FALL WAY SHORT.
JESUS SAYS WE ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH AND THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. IN JESUS TIME THERE WAS SALT WHICH WAS OBTAINED FROM MINES. THIS WAS VERY PURE, AND WAS USED BY THE VERY RICH, AND WEIGHED OUT AND USED TO PAY ROMAN SOLDIERS. SINCE IT WAS IN DEMAND ALL OVER THE EMPIRE, IT MADE A PRETTY GOOD MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE. BUT WHEN JESUS TALKED ABOUT SALT, HE WAS PROBABLY THINKING ABOUT BROWN AND YELLOW CRYSTALS THAT HAD BEEN OBTAINED FROM DRYING SEA WATER. IF YOU WERE A SALT MERCHANT, YOU MIGHT SELL SALT WITH A LOT OF SAND MIXED IN TO INCREASE YOUR PROFIT. POOR PEOPLE DIDN'T SPRINKLE SALT ON FOOD; THEY USED IT TO PRESERVE FOOD, AND WHEN THEY ATE THE MEAT OR FISH THAT HAD BEEN HEAVILY SALTED, THEY WASHED AWAY THE SALT. OBVIOUSLY IF YOUR SALT WAS MIXED WITH SAND, THE FOOD MIGHT NOT BE ADEQUATELY FLAVORED, OR MAYBE EVEN SPOILED. JESUS BRINGS UP THE IMAGE OF LIGHT AS WELL; IF WE HIDE THE LIGHT UNDER A BUSHEL BASKET, WHAT GOOD ARE WE? IF WE DECIDE NOT TO BE SALT, IF WE DECIDE TO HIDE OUR LIGHT, WELL, THERE IS NO BACK UP PLAN. GOD HAS TURNED OVER TO US THE CREATION AND REALIZATION OF HIS KINGDOM. IT WILL COME, WE KNOW THAT. BUT GOD GIVES US THE CHANCE TO BE A PART OF IT.
THE FIRST READING FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH SHOWS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE LIGHT; SIMPLE THINGS – FEEDING THE HUNGRY, SHELTERING THE HOMELESS, CLOTHING THE NAKED – NOT ONLY DOES THAT CAUSE MY LIGHT TO SHINE FORTH, IT ENLISTS GOD HIMSELF IN MY ACTIONS, AND JUST AS WE BECOME LIGHT FOR THOSE AROUND US, GOD BECOMES LIGHT FOR US, HE ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS, HE PROTECTS US. BUT THIS PROMISE THAT GOD WILL LOOK AFTER THOSE WHO TAKE SERIOUSLY THAT THEY ARE LIGHT AND SALT, IS NOT UNIQUE TO ISAIAH; IT IS A THEME THAT RUNS THROUGH THE BIBLE. JESUS HIMSELF PROMISED THAT THE MEASURE WITH WHICH WE MEASURE AS WE GIVE TO OUR NEIGHBOR IS THE SAME MEASURE GOD WILL USE TO GIVE TO US; IF YOU OFFER A TEASPOON FULL OF LOVE, EXPECT A TEASPOON OF REWARD FROM GOD. IF YOU OFFER A TRUCKLOAD, A TRUCKLOAD FOR YOU IS PROMISED.
SAINT PAUL ADDS ANOTHER DIMENSION. I IMAGINE SOME OF YOU ARE LIKE ME. I HAVE A CHARACTER TRAIT THAT I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO SHAKE IT ALL MY LIFE. I DON'T LIKE TO BEGIN ANYTHING UNLESS I'M REASONABLY SURE OF THE OUTCOME, AND THE EFFORT WHICH I WILL HAVE TO EXERT. SO I THINK OF SOMETHING I HAVE TO DO, AND AFTER I ANALYZE IT FROM ALL SIDES I OFTEN END UP THINKING THAT THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO DO IT, I'M NOT PREPARED, I HAVE TOO MANY OTHER IRONS IN THE FIRE. SO I PUT IT ON THE BACK BURNER UNTIL I AM MORE PREPARED, UNTIL I HAVE MORE TIME. AND IF YOU WERE TO SEE MY BACK BURNER, IT IS PRETTY CROWDED. BUT SAINT PAUL WRITES TO HIS BELOVED CORINTHIANS. HE REMINDS THEM THAT WHEN HE CAME TO THEM, HE BROUGHT NOTHING – HE HADN'T PREPARED ELOQUENT SERMONS, HE DIDN'T BRING LOGICAL ARGUMENTS AND BRILLIANT THOUGHTS, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS EXTREMELY WELL EDUCATED. IN FACT, IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, PAUL TRIED THAT IN ATHENS. HE MET WITH THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE OF THE CITY AND TRIED TO BRING CHRIST TO THEM BY USING PHILOSOPHY AND LOGIC. THEY REPLIED THAT IT WAS INTERESTING, AND MAYBE THEY'D HAVE HIM COME AROUND AGAIN SOME TIME. AND HERE, AN OLDER AND WISER PAUL RESOLVES TO STICK TO THE BASIC MESSAGE – THAT CHRIST SUFFERED, DIED, AND ROSE AGAIN, SO THAT WE COULD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE – AND THE REST WOULD BE UP TO GOD.
YOU GO OUT, BEGIN TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS, A LITTLE AT A TIME; YOU GO OUT AND SHINE A LITTLE OF THE LIGHT OF CHRIST, REFLECTED OFF OF YOU, INTO SOME DARK CORNERS; YOU GO OUT, UNPREPARED, NOT SEEING WHERE YOU WILL END UP, BEING LIKE JESUS WHO GAVE WHAT HE COULD TO THOSE WHO CROSSED HIS PATH. AND YOU GO OUT KNOWING ONLY THAT THE CRUCIFIED LORD GIVES YOU ALL THE POWER YOU NEED TO BE THE LIGHT, TO BE THE SALT. AND THE PROMISE IS THAT IF YOU ARE DOING THE WORK OF GOD, THE WORK LAID OUT BY ISAIAH, GOD HIMSELF WILL BE THERE WITH YOU. AND THAT'S THE RECIPE FOR BEING A SAINT. SIMPLE.
WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL IF AT YOUR FUNERAL, THOSE WHO KNEW YOU GOT TOGETHER AND SAID, “YOU KNOW, HE WAS A LIGHT SHINING IN THE DARKNESS, HER LIFE WAS LIKE THE SALT THAT KEEPS THINGS FRESH, THAT KEEPS CORRUPTION AT BAY. AND THIS GOSPEL IS THE RIGHT GOSPEL TO READ AT THE FUNERAL MASS.
I HOPE I HAVE A FEW MORE YEARS BEFORE MY FUNERAL MASS. AND I HOPE THAT BEFORE I DIE MAYBE I WILL GROW ENOUGH IN MY SPIRITUAL LIFE SO THAT THESE READINGS COULD BE READ AT MY FUNERAL, WITHOUT PEOPLE WONDERING WHAT ON EARTH THEY HAD TO DO WITH MY LIFE.
SO IN THE PLAN FOR MY FUNERAL I'VE GOT SHUBERT'S AVE MARIA, AND I'VE PICKED OUT SOME NICE READINGS. BUT A FUNERAL PLAN IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, AND MAYBE I'LL MAKE SOME CHANGES NOW AND THEN. IT'S GOOD TO LOOK AT THE PLAN ONCE A YEAR OR SO, AND WONDER WHETHER THOSE THINGS I'VE PUT IN THERE ARE STILL WHAT I WANT, OR WHETHER SOMETHING ELSE MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE, AND WHETHER I AM MAKING ANY PROGRESS IN MY SPIRITUAL LIFE, PROGRESS THAT CALLS FOR A DIFFERENT READINGS, DIFFERENT MUSIC.
MAYBE PLANNING ONE'S FUNERAL IS A GOOD THING FOR ALL OF US TO DO.