Jesus preaches about blessings and love
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Saint for Today: St. Michael Febres Cordero
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Jesus preaches about blessings and love
Jesus saw that so many people had come to hear him preach or to have him heal their sick that he had to go up the side of a mountain in order to be seen and heard. They had come from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and even from beyond the Jordan River. Jesus sat down and began to teach.
After telling them about the blessings that would be received by those who were poor in spirit or who were meek or who were hungry, he said, “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Then Jesus compared the people who were listening to things that they saw or used every day. “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.”
Jesus also made a point of explaining why he had come to earth. He knew that some people felt he was not following the religious laws properly. “Do not think,” he said, “that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.” Jesus also preached about love. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and on the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? ‚Ķ So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
READ MORE ABOUT IT: Matthew 5
1. What did Jesus say about being like a light?
2. What did Jesus say about our enemies?
Bible Accent
One of the items Jesus refers to in today’s story is salt. Salt was much more important as well as symbolic during the times of both the Old Testament and the New Testaments than it is now. As far back as Exodus 30, the Lord told Moses that the holy incense was “kept pure and sacred” by salt. In Leviticus 2 instructions were given that all grain offerings were to be seasoned with salt. Since there was no refrigeration in Bible times, salt was one of the main preservatives that kept food from spoiling. The salt used back then was either mined or was produced by allowing the sea water to evaporate. When Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth,” he meant more than just a mild seasoning, he meant a life-preserving mineral.
Saint for Today: St. Michael Febres Cordero
Michael Febres Cordero (1854-1910) of Ecuador was in the first class of the college opened by the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Cuenca in 1863. He was an excellent student, and he knew very early that he wanted to pursue a religious vocation. His parents said he should become a priest rather than a brother. He tried this, but poor health forced him to return home, where he was able to join the brothers who had inspired him in the first place. He became a teacher specializing in languages, but what he loved doing the most was preparing students for their first Communion. As part of his work he wrote textbooks for the Spanish curriculum, a catechism and several other related books. We honor him on Feb. 9.
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