In each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), after Jesus’ baptism by John, Jesus is reported to have gone to the desert to fast and pray for 40 days. In each case, while in the desert, Jesus is tempted by the devil.

   For this last Sunday before beginning the Lenten season, we are again reflecting on reversals or antitheses of codes of conduct which Jesus’ audience considered to be required of them. The call to love one's enemies was completely foreign to them.

This Sunday’s Gospel, as for the last two Sundays, is from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5. The focus today is on the Law. Jesus’ teaching may have been hard to swallow for this followers, because he was talking about change. What he would explain would involve going deeper into the law. It would mean intensifying the way the commandments would be lived day today.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the now familiar metaphors of salt and light to describe the life of discipleship. We take salt and light for granted in our society, but these commodities were more precious in ancient cultures. Just as now, salt was used in Jesus’ time for flavoring, as a preservative, and as a healing agent.