• Home
• >
• News & Events
• >
• News Articles
• >
• 2026
• >
• February
• >
• 2/8 Homily Fifth Sunday Ordinary Time
• >

News Articles

Bishop's Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

February 8, 2026

(In Green / Shutterstock.com)

Homily of the Most Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu
[Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, California]

I have never been to any banquet where the main dish is salt!

As Jesus tells us we are the “salt of the earth,” we can become very proud of our importance. Yes, Jesus knows, as we all do, that without salt food can be extremely bland – so bland we might not even be interested in eating it. Anyone who is on a low- or no-sodium diet can tell you how important salt is in spicing up our food. Yet it is never the main attraction, only something that enhances the main meal.

Some say we live in a world that is becoming more and more atheistic, that is to say, a place where God simply does not exist. I would contend that we are not becoming more atheistic, but what I call ego-theistic – a world in which “I” (the ego) is the center of the universe. It is a world where I decide when life begins and when life ends. I decide what gender I will be. I decide what truth is. I decide when truth matters or not. We are much too sophisticated to bow down before a golden calf, as our ancestors did. Instead, we bow down before the golden mirror. It is a world where the salt has in fact, become the meal.

We often find this world full of violent discord, of increasing social ills, and of growing depression and anxiety. This is the consequence of making ourselves gods. After all, if I am god, I cannot tolerate other gods, so the violence is bred. And I will probably become depressed because, when all is said and done, it is just too hard to be god!

We are here to receive the antidote to this world in which salt exaggerates its importance and becomes the meal. In fact, we are here to share the most nourishing meal of all – the Body and Blood of Jesus, the true and living God, who gives himself for us. Yes, he wants us to spice up the world by using our gifts and talents – but not for our own glory, for the glory of the true God. Jesus invites us to understand that our great importance is to enhance his presence in the world, so that he can continue his healing, merciful outreach to this generation.

If we worship the true God revealed to us in Jesus, we will spice up the world by refusing to engage in rhetoric of discord, and insisting on respecting others with love, even if we disagree with them. We will notice the hungry, the homeless, the sick and the oppressed, and we will be the living Body of Christ to set them free and provide for their needs. We will notice when hearts need to be changed so that we not only look at individuals in need but ask the deeper questions about the root causes of these dehumanizing realities, and we will be able to work on changing the structures that support oppression and misery. But we will do these things always tied to Jesus, who is alive and invites us into the most intimate and holy communion with him. He is God, after all, and can – and does! -- accomplish miracles.

Jesus also speaks of us as the light of the world and reminds us how important it is to let our light shine. But again, we need to remember that pure light can actually blind. Light serves best when it illuminates what is most beautiful, true and good in the world.  We shine so that others may see our good works and give glory to God! When we seek our own glory, we become a light that is darkened by the bushel basket of self-reference. But when we shine light on the humanity of a homeless brother or sister, on the sanctity of a child in the womb, on the dignity of an immigrant or someone imprisoned, we turn others not to ourselves but to the God of true glory.

Yes, we are all very important in the mission that Jesus came to accomplish and that the risen Jesus is still working out in the world. We are salt of the earth and light of the world. But we must always remember that salt is not the main meal, but brings spice to the Living Bread of Life; and that light does not shine for its own sake, but to show forth the glory of God so that all may love and praise him.