Weekly HOMILY for February 6, 2011: Becoming Light to Others

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A
St. Mark Church, Fallston
February 6, 2011


By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


THE KETTLE

A pastor friend recently told me a story about a group of businessmen who were attending a prayer breakfast. The speaker was emphasizing their duty to do what Jesus says in today’s gospel, that is, to be “the light of the world.”

One of the members said that he had had an experience at home that really helped him understand this passage.

He told of a day last year that he went down into the cellar of his old home and made an interesting discovery. Some potatoes had been placed over in the darkest corner of the cold, dark, damp cellar and they had begun to sprout.

At first, he couldn’t figure out how they had even gotten enough light to grow, but then he solved the mystery.

It seems that his wife had hung a stainless steel kettle from the ceiling near the basement window at the other end of the cellar. The kettle was polished enough that it reflected the rays of the sun onto the potatoes.

Well the individual derived a great lesson from that stainless steel kettle.

He told the group that he might not be a good preacher or teacher of the Bible, but that he could be a stainless steel kettle. That is, he could catch the rays of light from the Son of God and reflect that light to someone in a dark corner of life.


FACING THE SUN

That kettle does preach God’s word quite adequately this Sunday where we are challenged by Jesus to be light to the world.

The kettle gives us at least three important insights into what is involved in our being “the light of the world” to others.

First, notice that the kettle has to be facing the source of light, if it was to have an impact on the potatoes. Because it was facing the sun, it is able to take the light it receives and reflect it onto the potatoes.

We too need to be facing our spiritual source of light and that, of course, is the Lord Jesus.

The best way to be doing this is by regular daily contact with Christ. It comes in the silent reflection on his presence. It is said that our face begins to reflect whatever we focus on most.

It is even said that after decades of marriage, there is a real similarity between husbands and wives in the expression and countenance of their respective faces.

The same thing happens when we take time in silence to be in God’s presence. The more we are face-to-face with the Lord, the more we are able to take 5 or 10 minutes of silence with just a simple phrase of Scripture or a prayer, the more we will be like the one we encounter.

So facing our source of light, we will be heeding the first lesson the stainless steel kettle has to teach us.


SHINY ITSELF

The second lesson is that the kettle has to be able to reflect the light, which it could do because it was nicely polished.

We too must keep ourselves shined in order to be good reflectors of the light of Jesus.

Most of us, myself included, with the passing of days or weeks become are spiritually tarnished.

We’re spiritually dull when we have unconfessed or unadmitted sin in our heart. The best indicator of this is that we find ourselves always needing to be right or well-thought of.

When this is the case, it’s difficult for us to admit our failures and weaknesses even to God or ourselves, much less to someone else. To keep ourselves well polished, we need to admit that we have been impatient or that we have put someone down or whatever our failure at loving is.

We may need to admit things like this to a priest to be reconciled or to the person we have offended. Owning up to our failures, we can experience the strength that comes from God.

Staying shiny through a clear conscience is a great way to heed this second lesson of the stainless steel kettle.


FACING THE DARKNESS

Finally, note that the kettle was also facing the potatoes in the dark corner of the basement. It was because of this that it was able to reflect light on the potatoes and help them to grow.

We too need to reflect God’s light on those around us who find themselves in the dark corners of life.

Jesus tells us in the gospel, “People do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket. Instead, they put it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, your light must shine before others.”

This can be done in many practical ways. We reflect God’s light by talking with our children about their faith and sharing what our faith means to us.

We do it by visiting a relative who is sick. Or we do it by shoveling a frail elderly neighbor’s sidewalk or grocery shopping for them.

Wherever there is darkness, sadness, sorrow, lack of light, we need to be there.


CONCLUSION

A simple lesson from a household kettle – be a light to the dark places in life so that even potatoes can grow.

All it takes is (1) Being in touch with the source of light, Jesus Christ, (2) Keeping yourself right with God, and (3) Finding the dark corners in which to be present.