Influencers

February 8, 2026 – Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020826.cfm)

Weeks after ordination, four newly-ordained priests were summoned by the bishop for a meeting in his house. As they have settled down in his office, the bishop addressed them: “Young fathers, humor me with some experiment. I have here some piece of stone, cotton, clay and sugar. I want you to choose one of these things and place them on a glass of water before you.” And so they did as instructed by the bishop. Then the bishop said: “Before I will announce to you your new assignment, I want you to learn something from this little experiment we did. Consider the glass of water as your new assignment and consider the kind of priest will you be in your new assigned parish community.

You can be a stone who does nothing except to be a  new added member in the parish. You don’t influence the parish and the parish does not influence you. You can also be a cotton who easily adjust in the parish but eventually reduced and diminished the parishioners because you centralized everything to yourself. Everything in parish life is now about you, and not about them. You can also be a clay who slowly adjust to the parish, but eventually create disorder, problems, tensions and a lot of stress within, thus becoming a negative influence to the parishioners.

However, you can also be a sugar who slowly adjust and selflessly dissolve at the background into parish life – sharing positive influence and energy to make the parish sweet, and change it for the better. 

In life, we do encounter different kinds of leaders in our community. Like the little experiment, we may have categorized our leaders as the stony heartless leaders who does not care at all, or as the Selfish cotton “Me first” leaders who depletes our energy, or as the evil clay tormentor leaders who sow chaos in life, or as the selfless sugar influencing leaders who encourage and inspire us in life.

And definitely we prefer and expect our leaders to be selfless sugar influencers who have been a blessing to us for they motivate and empower us to be responsible members and change our lives for the better. We also dislike and avoid the stony-heartless, the selfish cotton “me-first” and the evil clay tormentor leaders for they make our family & community life heavy and miserable. 

We hear Jesus in our gospel today saying: “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” From these words, surely Jesus like us, would also want and expect our leaders to be selfless influencers, who leads us by their words and example. However His words are not only addressed to our leaders but also to ourselves, His followers, as light of the world & salt of the earth.

When Jesus declares to us today that “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world”, He proclaims to our very selves that with Him, we are not only already blessed but we are also God’s blessings to others. This means that as Christian, we are and we should be a blessing and a selfless influencing leader to others – to be light of the world, salt of the earth, and sugar within the family & community.

Inasmuch as we have been blessed by the inspiration and witness of our selfless influencing leaders, we should also be selfless influencing Christian witness to others within our community. As we have been blessed by God and others, You and I, We as His followers are also and should be then God’s gift and blessings to others within our Christian community – as salt of the earth & the light of the world.

Consider then that one thing salt & light in common is that they both make a difference wherever they are – and so we should be as followers of Christ. Christians are not only called to blend into the world, but rather make a difference in the world with our Christian values, good works & examples. We must strive to make a positive & life-giving influence & difference in our world by our witness of our Christian faith-life.

Perhaps then this month, remember the Christians who have been light and salt in your life – who greatly and selflessly influence your growth and formation as  better Christian person. Consider how they have been a blessing to you. Thank God for these Christian witnesses for through them you are blessed. 

Be reminded also of the people for whom you are trying to be light and salt in life – people under your care, direction and leadership. Consider  how you have been trying to influence & be a blessing  to them as followers of Christ. Pray to God for guidance and courage to be selfless influencing mentors to these people. 

As a famous theologian, Hans Urs von Balthazar, once said: “What you are is God’s gift to you. What you become in life is your gift to God”. So, BE God’s gift and blessing to others, as much as you have been blessed by God and others.

Amidst a life that can be dark, broken and tasteless, BE a responsible Christian influencer – a worthy witness to be today’s salt of the earth & light of the world : a sugar in our church now & always.

So may it be. Siya Nawa. Hinaut pa unta. Amen.