Deacon Tom Writes,
“Light and Zest”
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
The Sacred Author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote this graphic an insightful, if not disturbing, passage concerning the enduring truth about the Word of God when he penned these words, “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” Heb 4:12
There is no shortage of problems in our world today, extremely morally challenging ones facing our country. Look around and you see protesters responding to the recent ICE killings in Minnesota. Crowds of people carrying signs and placard protesting the arrest and treatment of immigrants; other protestors supporting one cause or another, advocating one course of action over a different path forward, labeling one ideology good and those who stand in opposition to that way of thinking bad. We are divided over many issues... our world, our country seems to be in chaos. Where does one turn to find a meaningful message, one that inspires hope, gives us a path that we may follow that helps heal our social, spiritual, emotional, and mental maladies? Perhaps anyone who enters any of our Catholic Churches around the world today, February 8, 2026 will find some direction and hopefully a better plan of action in these words from the Prophet Isaiah
Thus says the LORD:
Share your bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Isaiah goes on to say:
If you remove from your midst
oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
if you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday.
We don’t surrender our politics, our agendas, our experiences or hopes for the future when we enter Church to worship God. These are essential dimensions of our lives that are to be conformed and shaped by the Word and Sacrament that we receive when we participate in “the sacred mysteries” which bring us together as “the people of God” whenever we gather in his name.
We are faced with many challenges today not only in our political and social lives but also in our ecclesial and moral realms; we have many factors dividing us into contentious fractions to put it mildly...toxic polarization. Where to begin to find a remedy? In good conscience, we must not overlook the cautionary and prophetic advice we find in Sacred Scripture, which, like a scalpel, cuts away all diseased ways of thinking for all who are seeking to be healed from our current and prevalent toxic pattern of thinking.
Jesus calls his disciples “the salt of the earth.” All who heard Jesus say this understood how valuable salt was as both a preservative and an antiseptic, that enhances the flavor of food. Salt was a medium of exchange from which the word “salary” is derived. If we are to be the “salt of the earth” as Jesus called us to be, we must bring to the current debates the Christian values we find in Sacred Scripture that sees us all as God’s children and not just with our words but with our actions as well by bringing light and zest to the world around us. And the hardest part of all this, my brothers and sisters, is that first, we must embrace those very values Jesus teaches to rid ourselves of the toxins in our system.
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
Please Visit www.deaconspod.com for a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer.
OTHER RESOURCES
Recommended Reading: The Universal Christ by Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM - Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet.
Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.
Recommended YouTube Video: Fr James Martin, SJ Spirituality Podcast with Fr. Richard Roar, OFC. Host James Martin, S.J., welcomes the Franciscan spiritual master and author, Richard Rohr O.F.M., onto “The Spiritual Life”:
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