February 8, 2026
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 73
Reading
1
Thus says the
LORD:
Share your bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
If you remove from your midst
oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
if you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (4a) The
just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
His justice shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading
2
When I came to
you, brothers and sisters,
proclaiming the mystery of God,
I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of Spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his
disciples:
"You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020826.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
58:7-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16
Today’s Gospel immediately follows the Beatitudes. And the
readings are saying that the Beatitudes must not only be lived, but seen to be
lived. The Gospel reminds us that it is essential for the Christian disciple
both to be seen and heard. Christianity is not a private religion. I am not
just a Christian for me only. Christianity is a vision which is meant to change
the world, and there is no doubt that, to a great extent, it has.
Several images
Jesus uses a string of images to express this: He wants his disciples to be the
salt of the earth. Salt is a basic and essential item in our diet, but it had a
particular value in ancient culture. It is a purifier, a seasoning and a
preservative. This was especially the case in the days before refrigeration.
Today we tend to take in too much salt and are warned about doing so. But in
older times, it was a precious and often expensive commodity, and because of
its value, it was often a favourite item of taxation.
What Jesus emphasises is its distinctive taste. We often
judge food by saying it has too little or too much salt. Christians then, by
their gospel-centred lives, are to give a distinctive ‘taste’ to society. Those
who really have the spirit of the Beatitudes (including non-Christians) will
permeate the world, renew it, and slow down its social and moral decay.
But salt only produces its effect when it is totally merged
with the food. It is indistinguishable from the rest of the food, but its
presence or absence is very obvious. The Christian, too, can only be truly
effective when he or she is fully a member of society, and at the same time,
gives an unmistakable taste to that society.
There have been times when Christians felt that they should
keep away from the ‘world’. Monks and nuns, who were among the most committed
Christians, built large walls around their property to keep the ‘world’
out—although they clearly did have a visibility of their own, especially in an
all-Christian society. Their very separation from the rest of society and the
lives they led were meant to be a challenge. It is possible that in a secular
and pluralist society, such witness may give a very different message and be
less effective.
In our Western society, we often put salt on the side of the
plate. This is like the Christian who does have taste, but who lives on the
fringes of society and makes no impact on it. This can happen very easily when,
for instance, we have a parish which is only concerned with its own spiritual
well-being and makes no effort to reach out. There are many parts of our
society, especially the commercial, industrial and entertainment areas where
the Church is often totally absent. The other extreme is when a Christian is
totally immersed in secular society, but has nothing to give. This is like the
tasteless salt which is good for nothing.
“You are the light of the world”
Jesus said of himself:
I am the light of the world. (John 8:12)
In today’s Gospel, we are then called to be and to do what
Jesus did for the world. The Gospel message is to shine out through our words
and actions. Some people will not like that light, preferring darkness, and may
try to put it out. But Jesus dealt with that in the last Beatitude where he
speaks of persecution for the sake of the gospel.
Jesus uses two more images to emphasise the essential
visibility of the Christian. He speaks of a city built on top of a hill. It
sticks out like a sore thumb; there is no way to hide it. And he speaks of a
lamp on a lamp stand. What is the point in lighting a lamp, then covering it
up? What is the point in getting baptised, joining the Christian community and
then becoming completely invisible to others, especially to those who are not Christians?
For instance, how many of my neighbours know that I am a believing and
practising Christian? How many of my colleagues at work know? How many of my
socialising friends?
What should be seen?
And what does Jesus want people to see? Packed congregations? Magnificent
churches which are architectural masterpieces? Thousands on their knees
praying? People doing severe penitential exercises? Planeloads of pilgrims
going to places of devotion, like Rome, the Holy Land, Lourdes, Fatima and
Medjugorje? What does he want people to see?
All these things are undoubtedly good, but nothing like this
is mentioned in today’s readings. What kind of religious observation does God
want to see? To answer that question let us listen to the First Reading from
Isaiah:
…to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke…
This is Christianity? This is religion? But it is so
political! And Isaiah is not finished yet, and he asks another clearly
rhetorical question:
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
It is then, and only then, that we will truly be the salt of
the earth:
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly…
Then you will find God.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am”…
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
Show off your good works!
Let the light that is in us, then, shine brightly. And why is this? Is it so
that people will see our good works and say how wonderful Catholics we are? No!
There is only one reason for us to be salt and light for others—so people may
be drawn to God as their Lord. Our only aim in living out the gospel with
maximum visibility is to point people in the direction of the God who loves
them and in whom is their ultimate happiness. Our aim is to urge people to work
together for the kind of world that God wants us to have.
To do all this we do not need elaborate training, or a
postgraduate degree. It is within reach of the most simple, even illiterate,
person. It is not a question of passing on knowledge, but of sharing our
experience of a loving God.
So Paul says today in the Second Reading:
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not
come…with superior speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you
except Jesus Christ and him crucified….I came to you in weakness and in fear
and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were made not with
persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
Paul tells us elsewhere that he begged God to remove from
him a serious disability which he felt prevented him from preaching the gospel
effectively. Three times he begged God to take this thing away. And, he says,
God answered his prayer, not by taking it away, but by helping Paul to realise
that it was precisely in his weakness and through his weakness that God’s power
became most obvious in him (see 1 Cor 12:7-10).
So our lack of talent or influence or education can never be
excuses for not sharing our experience of Christ and of working with others to establish
the Kingdom among us. We saw that in a person like St Teresa of Calcutta
(Mother Teresa), who exerted such a powerful influence by the utter simplicity
of her life. Wearing her simple white sari and her old leather sandals, she
could visit the destitute and dying in the slum of an inner city and the next
day be socialising with the rich and powerful wearing exactly the same clothes.
That is what being the salt of the earth means.
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Sunday,
February 8, 2026
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help
us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the
disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible,
you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of
Your sentence and death.
Thus, the cross that seemed to be the
end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create silence in us so that we may listen to Your voice in
Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor
and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on
the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to
others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and
peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us
and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Mt 5: 13-16
Key for the Reading of Both
Parables:
If you have a chance, read Matthew 5: 1-12, which meditated
on the eight
Beatitudes. The Beatitudes
constitute the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount and describe the eight
doors of entry into the Kingdom of God, by a life in community (Mt 5: 1-12). This
Sunday we meditate the continuation (Mt 5: 13-16) which presents two well-known
parables, of the light and of the salt, with which Jesus describes the mission
of the community. The community has to be salt of the earth and light of the
world. Salt does not exist for itself, but to give flavor to food. Light does
not exist in itself, but to illuminate the road. We, our community, do not
exist for ourselves, but for others and for God.
Almost always when Jesus wants to
communicate an important message, He has recourse to a parable or to a
comparison, taken from daily life. In general, He does not explain the parable,
because it is a question of things that we all know from experience. A parable
is a provocation. Jesus provokes the audience to use its own personal
experience to understand the message which He wants to communicate. In the case
of the Gospel of this Sunday, Jesus wants that each one of us analyze the
experience that he or she has of salt and light to understand the mission that
is ours as Christians. In this world, is there someone, perhaps, who does not
know what salt is or what light is? Jesus begins with two very common and
universal things to communicate his message.
A Division of the Text to Help in
the Reading:
•
Matthew 5: 13: The Parable of the salt
•
Matthew 5: 14-15: The Parable of the light
•
Matthew 5: 16: Application of the parable of the
light.
The Text:
13 “You are salt for the
earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can make it salty again? It is good for
nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled under people's feet. 14 You
are light for the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. 15 No one
lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lampstand where it
shines for everyone in the house. 16 In the same way your light must shine in
people's sight, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your
Father in heaven.”
A Moment of
Prayerful Silence
so that the Word of God may
penetrate and enlighten our life.
Some Questions
to help us in our personal
reflection
•
Which part of the text struck you most? Why?
•
In the first place, before trying to understand
the meaning of Jesus’ words about the salt, try to reflect within yourself on
the experience that you have of the salt in your life and try to discover this:
“According to me, salt, for what is it good?”
•
Starting then from this personal experience
concerning the salt, try to discover the meaning of Jesus’ words for your life
and for the life of the community, of the Church. Am I being salt? Is our
community being salt? Is the Church being salt?
•
What meaning does light have in your life? What
has been your experience concerning light?
•
What is the meaning of the parable of the light
starting from the application which Jesus Himself makes in the parable?
To Deepen More on This Theme
Context of the Discourse of Jesus:
•
Literary context. The four verses of the Gospel
of this Sunday (Mt 5: 13-16) are found among the eight Beatitudes (Mt 5: 1-12)
and the explanation of how the Law transmitted by Moses is to be understood (Mt
5: 17-19). Then follows the new reading which Jesus makes of the commandments
of the Law of God (Mt 5: 20-48). Jesus asks us to consider the purpose of the
Law which according to Him is contained in the words: “Be perfect as your
Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5: 48). Jesus asks us to imitate God! At the
origin of this new teaching of Jesus is found the new experience which He has
of God the Father. Observing the Law in this way, we will be salt of the earth
and light of the world.
•
Historical Context. Many converted Jews
continued to be faithful in the observance of the Law, just as they had done
during their childhood. But now, having accepted Jesus as the Messiah, and, at
the same time, being faithful to the teaching received from their parents and
the Rabbi, they were cutting themselves out from their Hebrew past, they were
expelled from the synagogues, from the ancient teachers and even from their
parents (Mt 10: 21-22). And in their own Christian community, they heard the
converted pagans say that the Law of Moses had been surpassed and that it was
not necessary to observe it. They were between two fires. On one side, the
ancient teachers and companions excommunicated them. On the other side, the new
companions criticized them. All this caused tension and uncertainty in them.
The openness of some criticized the closeness of others and vice-versa. This
conflict brought about a crisis which led them to close up in their own
position. Some wanted to go ahead, others wanted to place the light under the
table. And many asked themselves: “But definitively, what is our mission?” The
parables of the salt and the light help us to reflect on the mission.
Commentary on the Text:
•
Matthew 5: 13: The parable of the salt
Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words,
Jesus makes known what is the mission and the reason for being of the
Community: to be salt! In that time, because of the great heat, people and
animals needed to eat much salt. The salt was delivered in great blocks by the
suppliers and these blocks were placed in the public square to be consumed by
the people. The salt which remained fell on the ground, was no longer good for
anything and it was stepped on by everyone. Jesus recalls this usage to clarify
the mission which the disciples have to carry out. Without salt nobody could
live, but what remained of the salt was good for nothing.
•
Matthew 5: 14-16: The Parable of the Light
The comparison is obvious. Nobody lights a candle to place it
under a bushel.
A city on a mountain top cannot remain hidden. The
community must be light, has to illuminate. It must not be afraid to show the
good that it does. It does not do it to make it seen, but what it does can and
should be seen. Salt does not exist for itself. Light does not exist for
itself. This is the way a community should be: it cannot close itself in self.
To Broaden the Vision on the
Beatitudes:
•
The parables in the context of the community of
that time
•
Among the converted Jews there were two
tendencies. Some thought that it was no longer necessary to observe the Laws of
the Old Testament, because we have been saved by faith in Jesus and not by the
observance of the Law (Rom 3: 21-26). Others thought that they, being Jews, had
to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15: 1-2). In each
one of these two tendencies there were some more radical groups. Before this
conflict, Matthew seeks a balance to unite both extremes. The community has to
be a space where this balance can be reached and where it can be lived. The
community has to be the center of irradiation of this lived experience and show
everyone the true meaning and the objective of the Law of God. The communities
cannot go against the Law, nor can they close themselves up in themselves in
the observance of the Law. Like Jesus, they have to take a step ahead and show
in practice the objective which the Law wants to attain, that is, the perfect
practice of love. Living in this way they will be “Salt of the Earth and Light
of the World.”
The various tendencies in the communities of the first
Christians
•
The Pharisees did not recognize the Messiah in
Jesus and accepted only the Old Testament. In the communities there were
persons who sympathized with the mentality of the Pharisees (Acts 15: 5).
•
Some converted Jews accepted Jesus as Messiah,
but did not accept the freedom of Spirit with which the communities lived in
the presence of the risen Jesus (Acts 15: 1).
•
Others, whether converted Jews or Pagans,
thought that with Jesus the end of the Old Testament had been attained and
that, therefore, it was not necessary to maintain and to read the books of the
Old Testament. From now on, only Jesus and the life in the Spirit! James
criticizes this tendency (Acts 15:21).
•
There were Christians who lived fully their life
in community in the freedom of the Spirit that they no longer considered either
the life of Jesus nor the Old Testament. They wanted only the Christ of the
Spirit! They said, “Jesus is cursed!” (I Cor 12:3).
•
The great concern in the Gospel of Matthew is to
show that these three unities: (1) the Old Testament, (2) Jesus of Nazareth and
(3) the life in the Spirit, cannot be separated. The three-form part of the
same and unique project of God and communicate to us the central certainty of
faith: the God
of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the community thanks
to faith in Jesus of Nazareth.
Prayer: Psalm 27
Yahweh is My Light
Yahweh is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life, whom should I dread?
When the wicked advance against me to
eat me up, they, my opponents, my enemies, are the ones who stumble and fall.
Though an army pitch camp against me,
my heart will not fear, though war break out against me, my trust will never be
shaken.
One thing I ask of Yahweh, one
thing I seek: to dwell in Yahweh's house all the days of my life, to enjoy the
sweetness of Yahweh, to seek out His temple. For He hides me away under His
roof on the day of evil, He folds me in the recesses of His tent, sets me high
on a rock.
Now my head is held high above the
enemies who surround me; in His tent I will offer sacrifices of acclaim.
I will sing, I will make music for Yahweh.
Yahweh, hear my voice as I cry. Pity me, answer me!
Of You my heart has said, 'Seek His
face!' Your face, Yahweh, I seek; do not turn away from me.
Do not thrust aside Your servant
in anger, without You I am helpless. Never leave me, never forsake me, God, my
Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, Yahweh will gather me up.
Yahweh, teach me Your way, lead
me on the path of integrity because of my enemies; do not abandon me to the
will of my foes false witnesses have risen against me, and are breathing out
violence.
This I believe: I
shall see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living. Put your hope in
Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold, put your hope in Yahweh.
Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that has enabled us to
understand better the will of the Father. May your Spirit enlighten our actions
and grant us the strength to practice what your Word has revealed to us. May
we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You
live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and
ever. Amen.
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