Lawrence Lam @ WYD2002
|
Rt. Rev Arthur Roche, Coadjutor Bishop of Leeds: "You Are the Salt of the Earth"
We have all travelled, many of us over long distances from across the world, to be together, to be Church, to learn what it is to be Christ in the world in which we live. And to gather around the Holy Father, the central touch-stone of our unity as the Church – a wise and holy shepherd who shows to all of us much love by the way he lives and never who spares himself. Now that we have arrived here today, we begin, together, another sort of journey – one of deep inner discovery, of renewal and refreshment. We are here because we love Jesus; and because we love Jesus we love the Church, which is his Body, you and me – we are all in this together with the Lord. These next three days allow us the opportunity to pause, to think carefully, to ruminate over our lives, to put certain things back into place so that we have a clearer idea of where it is we are going, how best to get there and what we need for the journey. In one sense we have it all, already. But let us see, for this is a journey of discovery. Joke: Child asks where it comes from. Mother grits her teeth and responds – its time! Do you understand that? Oh, yea, says the child, but where DO I come from. Harry comes from New York! - Lesson: a matter of perspective and avoiding presumption As we settle down to listen and question, ponder and reflect upon each others’ experiences, insights, and perhaps anxieties, I would like to begin with a challenge. It comes in the form of a poem written by Minnie Louise Harkins (1875-1957.) My brother gave a small inscription of this to my mother only a few days before he was killed as a soldier through an act of terrorism. It meant a great deal to her, as you can imagine, and indeed to all our family. It describes something of the attitude, I believe, we should have as we enter into the spirit of the next few days. It reads: I said to the man Let us, then, together as the brothers and sisters of the Lord, put our hands into His. Let us trustingly let Him lead us as we step out on this journey of discovery. Today’s theme, you are the salt of the earth, and those of the next two days help us to focus on two tremendous graces that are at our disposal. They are the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Baptism makes us like Christ – incorporates us into his Body, the Church. Reconciliation polishes away the tarnished marks that can appear after baptism because of the way we may on occasion live – the marks of sin. Sacrament – it is a strange word even though we know what it means. The English word sacrament comes from the Latin word sacramentum which when used by the Romans, particularly the legal and military personnel of the time, meant ‘a sum (in other words, money) which two parties deposited at the beginning of something: perhaps a law suit, or an oath of allegiance - and which held them together – as it were in a solemn engagement.’ Interesting stuff, because when we come to use the same word in the context of the Church, or in faith terms, we find that, yes, it reflects that Roman sense of the word, but a little more, too. Because a sacrament is certainly something very sacred, so sacred in fact, that it is an effective sign, a symbol where God shows us what he does, and does what he shows us. In other words, these are signs that have been established by Christ, to make the life of Christ present to us, so that the very life-force of Jesus is ours. It is a gift that is utterly free because we have brought nothing in exchange for it. In a discussion on the meaning of Baptism, one of the great Fathers of the Church, Tertullian (c. 160-c.225) explained:
Baptism initiates us into this life-force, not just as an individual, but together – we are the people of God, not a person of God – that is reserved to the Blessed Trinity! – (Three persons in one God) - even the Trinity is a community! No we are a people, we are in this together – and for a very good reason, but let us discover that truth more and more in these next 3 days. This life-force is given to us by our symbolically entering into the death and resurrection of Christ – by being dipped, submerged, covered, our sins buried by the waters of baptism so that we might also rise symbolically from the waters with Christ. The Church summarises this sacrament so beautifully when it teaches: Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door, which gives access to the other sacraments. Through baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons [and daughters] of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: ‘Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water and the word.’ Members of Christ! No wonder Jesus says you are the salt of the earth, when we realise the beauty of this great gift - to be Christened, as we say in some parts of the world, to be made like Christ. When the Holy Father issued his invitation to you to join him here in Canada he wrote in his letter: One of the main functions of salt is to season food, to give it taste and flavour. This image reminds us that, through Baptism, our whole being has been profoundly changed, because it has been “seasoned” with the new life which comes from Christ (cf. Rom 6:4). The salt which keeps our Christian identity intact - even in a very secularized world - is the grace of Baptism. Through Baptism we are re-born. We begin to live in Christ and become capable of responding to his call to “offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom 12:1). You are the salt of the earth. You already have this essential ingredient, which makes such a difference to everything else because your salt is the grace of baptism. You cannot undo your baptism. You might try to shake it off. You might try to dint it. But it will never leave you because what we call the character of the sacrament has already changed you. It has already made a big difference. You are one of God’s gifts to our world. You make a difference, and you could make a big difference. When our Lord said, you are the salt of the earth, He knew exactly what he was saying. He knew the value and the power of salt – how precious it was (like gold – salt/salary – they are from the same word); and not only precious, but also what a difference it makes to the blandness of our lives. He knew how best to use it. Salt has many functions:
Above all it preserves and it flavours. It is both passive and active. It is something I need, and something I need to share with others. These two elements of being passive and active have to be kept in balance: what I need myself, and what I can do for others - what I am, and what I do, and how I do it. To be concerned with the inward and the outward – the call to personal holiness and the call to mission – to go out to others – to share with them. You are the salt of the earth! But Jesus warns us when He continues to say, if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out … The first part of that sentence is a very good question on which to examine ourselves. The saltiness of which Jesus talks is kept, preserved, enhanced by our personal relationship with the Father - our life of prayer which needs always to be nourished and challenged by the Word of God in the Scriptures. You remember how the young lawyer, full of his new learning, came to Jesus to ask Him which of the 10 commandments was the most important – in other words what was the most essential element for a person’s life, He said in answer: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it. ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the law and the prophets. – In other words, on these two hinges hang everything! You need to be fed interiorly if you are to have the strength to bring gifts to others. Cardinal Hume of Westminster who was a very holy man used to say, ‘From Desert to Marketplace. You first have to weave your baskets in the desert before you can sell your goods in the Market Place’. You first have to develop your relationship with the Lord, renew your saltiness if you are to make a difference to our world – you need to stay in touch. How? Prayer and reading the words of life in the Scriptures. Prayer: just being there with Him – opening ourselves up to Him, as we would to a friend; loving Him, adoring, praising Him, asking for His help. Make a resolution to spend some time like that each day with Jesus at your side: praying, mulling over even just one little verse from the Scriptures. Getting to know Him so that you can love Him more; and loving Him, serve Him in our needy world. As we gather together in this centre dedicated to that great English Cardinal, John Henry Newman it is fitting to recall some words that he wrote as a prayer and which speak eloquently to us today: God has created me to do some definite service. That is faith. And it is one of the most important vocations that we have as baptised Christians – to be in the midst of a creation that has God at it’s centre – our God is a God of Life in Him there is no death! By Baptism we become life’s maintenance people. We have a hidden treasure that is not of our own making – nor just to be kept to ourselves. Being salt to the earth is a call that goes back to Genesis and man’s and woman’s stewardship of creation. Jesus is reminding us, as his followers, that it is our role to be stewards of creation, not just to be passive nice people. And so it poses the challenge today: what is my stewardship of creation? - not just to creation in the sense of the environment, but life itself, because being salt to the earth is also a call to preserve life in all its beauty. This is a gift that we can bring because as baptised people we see things differently if we have not lost our saltiness. We see Christ in everything and in everyone, because as St John tells us in his gospel that nothing came into being except through him! He needs you to bring that saltiness to others. Let me read you a short anonymous poem, I read recently. It is called Sent: And the Lord said GO When Pope St Leo the Great, in the fifth century, was preaching his Christmas sermon he could not suppress what he wanted to say, and burst out with something I would like you, the salt of our earth, to remember: O Christian, never forget your dignity, your nobility; it is God’s own life that you share! |
It is not my intent to offend anyone here. What I wrote was straight from the heart: uncensored, uncut. |
I must tell you a little story before we begin. I am told it is true.
Following a very special Mass, the Bishop who had presided at it stood at
the Church door to greet people as they left. The people were very
complimentary about what the bishop had said in his sermon. ‘Splendid’
said one. ‘That was so moving’ said another, and so it went on.
However, one rather shabbily dressed man took the bishop’s hand and
said, ‘Pathetic!’ before moving on. The compliments started again, but
after a few minutes the strange man was back in the queue. This time he
said to the bishop, ‘Very, very boring!’ and again went out of the
door. The pattern repeated itself yet again. This time the message was,
‘Hope it will be a long time before we see you again!’ When everyone
had gone, the bishop turned to the parish priest. ‘Who was that strange
man’ asked the bishop. ‘He said some very peculiar things.’ ‘Oh,
don’t worry about him’ said the priest, ‘he’s a bit simple and he
just wanders round repeating what he hears other people say.’Contact me: lawrencewyd@catholic.org