THE TRUE CHRISTIAN IDENTITY "You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world." These are Jesus's words in today's Gospel reading (Matthew 5:13-16). These are words that describe the true identity of a Christian. Note carefully the words of Jesus. He doesn't doesn't make any reference to the past (you were the salt of the earth or you were the light of the world) nor refer to the future (you will be the light of the world or you will be the salt of the earth). Jesus addresses us in the present: You are means now. It is today! The question is, why the usage of salt? Why light? Why not stone, tree, sand, etc? What is special about salt and light? • Salt It is a compound that is formed from the reaction of an acid with a base (NaCl). Some of the usages of salt are as follows: taste to food, salary for soldiers in the ancient world, preservative, ratification of covenant, etc. • Light It is a visible electromagnetic radiation. It clarifies vision. It dispels darkness. It brings joy. By using salt and light, the Lord would want us to be to humanity what these elements (salt and light) represent. As a Christian, you must add taste to the life of people. You must prevent the world from decaying. You must lead humanity to God's presence. I ask: How can that which is spoilt preserve? How can that which is dark lead? • As a Priest, how am I preserving humanity from decay as the salt of the earth? • As a Mass Server, Lector, Usher, Chorister, etc, how are you leading others to God's presence as the light of the world? • As a husband, wife, child, etc, how are you the light of your family? • Are we Christians contributing to the decay of humanity? • Are we darkening the world instead of enlightening it? Consider these statistics in Ghana in relation to being the salt of the earth and the light of the world: • Two teenagers murder an 11 year old boy in Kasoa (a Ghanaian community) for rituals, 2021. • Man murders girlfriend at Mamprobi, 2017. • Man Kills lover together with her 4-year-old son and dumps their remains in a galamsey pit, 2018. • Mother pours hot water on son for allegedly stealing ₵1. • Rape: 484 cases in 2013. 514 cases in 2014. 451 cases in 2015. • Nationwide robbery: 1, 235 cases in 2013. 1, 116 cases in 2014. 1, 411 cases in 2015. • 525 murder cases were recorded in 2015. • Abortion: 8, 717 cases in 2009 (24 cases daily). 10, 785 cases in 2010 (30 cases daily). 16,185 cases in 2011 (44 cases daily). 17,145 cases in 2012 (47 cases daily). 18,156 cases in 2013 (50 cases daily). 18, 678 cases in 2014 (51 cases daily). The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has revealed that a total of 53,114 abortions were carried out in 2017 alone across all government hospitals (146 cases daily). • Ghana records about 1, 500 suicide cases annually (4 cases daily). • Teenage pregnancies from 2016 to 2020: 555, 575 cases. 542, 131 cases for 15-19 years. 13, 444 cases for 10-14 years. In 2020: 2, 865 for girls between the ages of 10 and 14 (8 cases daily) and 107, 023 for girls between the ages of 15 and 19 (293 cases daily). The above clearly indicates that there is a problem. It tells us that something is definitely wrong somewhere. How did we get to this level? Where did we go wrong? Who did what? Where are we going to? Today (10-6-2025), the world is still in darkness. There is little or no light. People can't find their way to Jesus. The world is tasteless. There is decay everywhere. To actualise the words of Jesus, we must work on these: • Listen to Jesus. • Act on the words of Jesus. • Let us set good examples for humanity. • Proper formation of children. • Evangelisation. It is well....🌿