1 Kings 17:7-16 / Matthew 5:13-16
The ways of the Lord are indeed wonderful and marvellous to see.
Yet for the rich and secure, for those who had no dire need, the ways of the Lord are hidden from them.
But for the poor and the lowly and the needy, the Lord shows them signs and wonders.
The 1st reading shows us how the Lord takes care and provides for those who obey Him and trust in Him.
In a dire situation like a famine, the widow could have cared less about Elijah, and just go on with her last meal with her son and then wait for death.
Nobody would have bothered about hospitality or concern for neighbour. It was each for for his own survival; so it was then, and so it is now.
But the widow obeyed the voice of the Lord and, putting her life and the life of her son and their needs aside, attended to Elijah.
Hence to be the salt and light that Jesus was talking about in the gospel, we have to learn from the wonderful and marvellous example of the nameless widow of the 1st reading.
We need to be lowly and ordinary like the salt, and yet humble even when we are shining like the light.
Only then will we see the wonders and the marvellous works of the Lord.