The Holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 9:41-50)
Jesus said to his disciples: “”Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
“”Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
“”Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.””
The Gospel of the Lord.
REFLECTION:
If you grab an item from the refrigerator or your pantry and read the ingredients, chances are that you will find some of these hard to pronounce ingredients: Arythorbic acid, Ascorbic acid, Propionates, Gallic acid, and others. For millennia, peoples around the world have tried to find ways to keep their food from spoiling. Some of the most traditional ways to make food last longer are drying, cooking, smoking, fermenting, pickling, sugaring and salting. Salt not only helps food last longer, but it also enhances its flavor.
Fire has also been used as a way to stop food from going bad. Moreover, fire represents the Holy Spirit the strength of our faith and a way to purification.
For all of us, the disciples of Jesus, the challenge is not that life is riddled with hardships but how we are expected to deal with them. Temptations abound, but Jesus is telling us not to give in; to endure! To do whatever we can to remain faithful and hopeful, even at great cost. However, Jesus is also telling us that these hardships are better overcome with the support of each other!
When Jesus says for us to keep salt, He means that we need to keep faith and hope in him, no matter how difficult the situation -even in the face of certain death! Faith and hope are the salt that will preserve us; that will keep us from spoiling; from corruption! Just like peoples around the world have learned to have enough salt to preserve food from spoiling, or share it with others who do not have enough, Jesus is expecting us to keep at hand as much of this “inner salt” as possible to keep us from corruption and to share it with those who may not have, or not have much.
But the “inner salt” that will preserve us from corruption is the fire of the Holy Spirit. We have been salted with this fiery preservative through our life every time we participate in a Sacrament (such as Baptism, Confirmation, and the others). While God has salted, and continues to salt us, with the fire of the Holy Spirit to keep us from corruption, it is up to us not to become “insipid” by living out God’s commandments, which include sharing our divine salt with others.
It is our responsibility to assist our brothers and sisters, to share our fiery salt and help preserve them from sin. If we don’t, what is the purpose of getting more heavenly salt? we simply become insipid and then nothing will help us recover its flavor. We must be careful to use the fiery salt that God has provided us with and not to substitute it with artificial preservatives that cause us more harm than good. Just as we must be weary of the artificial preservatives in processed food, we must be weary of false or earthly artificial ways of happiness: fame, glory, money, possessions, pride and others.
Jesus is reminding us today that, as long as we use the fiery salt we have been seasoned with and share it, we will experience true happiness, now and for eternity.
Action of the Day
The next time you participate in any Sacrament, any liturgy, or share your faith with someone else, be in the moment; be aware in heart and spirit of how God is salting you even more with the fire of His Holy Spirit. Be mindful of how God is providing you with more salt, not just to save you from the corruption of sin, but to share it with those who are running low or have none. Compare the limited or passing peace the earthly preservatives offer you with how much lasting peace being salted with the fire of the Holy Spirit makes you feel. A pinch of fiery salt makes life more savory!
DEACON5 website link: https://deacon5.com/
Click below to listen to this reflection
