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Gospel Reading for 08 February 2026 – Matthew 5: 13-16
NOMINAL
Jesus said to his disciples: “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.”
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If salt loses its taste, it can no longer be called salt; it ceases to be seasoning. If light is hidden under a bushel basket, it cannot be called light because it no longer illuminates its surroundings. In the same way, if we claim to be Christians yet live lives unlike Christ, we cannot truly be called Christians. What, then, is the value of being merely NOMINAL Christians?
This is why the late Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian leader who peacefully fought for freedom against Britain, once said: “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Jesus consistently emphasized that true righteousness, purity, and worth come from the interior state of the heart, not from mere external observance or outward appearances (Mark 7:15–23). We may possess a baptismal certificate as proof that we are Christians, but it remains nothing more than a piece of paper if we do not live according to the teachings of Christ.
We might think that it is not a serious matter to resemble the Pharisees whom Jesus called “hypocrites.” If it were not serious, Jesus would not have been so forceful in his condemnation of their actions and the heavy burdens they imposed on others in the name of religion. His anger was, in truth, born of frustration—because he desires that all be saved. And how can we be saved if we do not follow the Savior?
Let us not pass through life wasting our time, for to waste time is to waste life itself—a life that will have no roots in eternal joy.
Lord Jesus, help us to become what we receive in our Eucharistic celebrations.
