Changing the Church by Becoming Salt and Light

Today’s liturgical readings for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time can be found here.

I am often asked by Catholic LGBTQ+ people and their supporters what is the best way to help the Catholic Church become more accepting and welcoming of LGBTQ+ people.  I’ve worked in this area for over 30 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that none of us really have the power to change such a huge, global institution like the Catholic Church. We can only act locally, trying to effect change in our local communities, our local church leaders and fellow Catholics.

Today’s liturgical readings offer an even more radically local recommendation to effect change and build up justice: start with yourself. In the first reading, Isaiah’s advice has nothing to do with political strategy or community organizing.  Instead, he suggestsaa combination of Matthew 25 and the Ten Commandments:  feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, don’t lie, respect those in your family and community.

Isaiah promises that if we do these things, the following will happen:

“Your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of God shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and God will answer,
you shall cry for help, and God will say: Here I am!”

Those are wonderful promises, but I have to admit that these suggestions don’t sound very much like a concerted plan of action.  Where are the “to do lists,” the organizational charts, the schedules, budgets, the strategic plan?

Isaiah is sugesting that instead of focusing on our human ways of doing things, we need to adopt God’s ways, which never seem to make much sense if we compare them to human logic.  As St. Paul tells us today, our faith “might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”

Isaiah is offering what in our present day is considered good psychological advice:  don’t try to change others, just work on yourself. Be the change you want to see in the world.

It’s much easier (and perhaps more fun?) to point out the faults of other people and admonish them to change than to try to change ourselves.  And how can changing ourselves really make any change in the church or in the world?

Jesus provides the answer to that question in today’s gospel. We are supposed to be the salt of the earth, he says.  To do that, we have to be on guard to make sure we maintain our own “saltinesss” because, “if salt loses its taste, . . .  it is no longer good for anything.”  We also have to be a beacon that “gives light to all in the house.”

But so much in society and the church continually seems to drive LGBTQ+ people into discouragement.How do we make sure that we don’t lose our flavor and our light in our lives?   Psalm 112 today continues the theme of working on ourselves and being the change we want to see.  Doing this will accomplish two things. For one thing, it will bring about justice:

‘The justice of just people shall endure forever;
Their horn shall be exalted in glory.”

Secondly, it will keep us steadfast:

“The just shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report the just shall not fear;
their hearts are firm, trusting in God.”

For those who work for justice for LGBTQ+ people, disappointment and discouragement are common outcomes which can often lead to burnout:  our light goes out.  Jesus wants us to keep that light alive and burning bright.  Renewal does not happen by doubling down in our efforts to change unjust structures. Instead, we have to change ourselves, making sure that we have not gotten so caught up in our ideals that we neglect the works of mercy and that we act justly so as to be a beacon of light to those who live in darkness.

—Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry, February 5th, 2023