Homily – Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Comedian Nigel Ng, more famously recognised as “Uncle Roger” on YouTube, is known for his reaction videos with his iconic bright orange shirt, humorously critiquing other high-profile food presenters.  His reactions and comments seem to have a common pattern, most notably, it is evident he is a champion of MSG, believing it is the king ingredient of flavouring all dishes!

Now, I’m unsure if Jesus has ever heard of MSG during his time on earth but He does call us to be the “salt of the earth” (Matt 5:13).  Many of our parishioners are great cooks and I’m sure they understand the purpose of salt; it is designed to add flavour.  We as Christians have this wonderful task of adding flavour to the world with the Word of God, by accessing the rich heritage of our faith, touching the lives of those around us in our local communities and institutions, family and cultures, and its members and activities.

However, salt not only adds flavour, it is also a preservative preventing food from expiring.  Part of flavouring the world involves preserving and keeping intact the faith handed down to us from Jesus and his disciples.  Sometimes though, its easy to think preserving the faith simply means conserving our tradition by rehashing old sayings and old ways of thinking.  Indeed, these are important because we benefit from receiving the beautiful treasures of faith handed on from those before us.

Yet, we cannot expect to flavour the world by remaining static and using the same old phrases in light of new and modern challenges.  The task of bringing flavour to the world and preserving the Word of God, requires creativity in our communication, allowing it to make sense and accessible to each individual, including the young and old and the religious and non-religious.

In today’s age, there is the risk for all Christians, religious or non-religious to become unsavoury.  We can find ourselves either failing to flavour those around us or failing to preserve what has been received.  Each of us has our own particular dish and our own situation to flavour, even if that involves using some MSG!  In your homes, workplaces, friendships, and other circles, your presence is required if the Gospel is to be seen, spoken, tasted.  Only you can prepare an encounter with Jesus and only you can bring the flavour of faith, hope and charity!

By Fr Ian Vergel

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