The apostolic Church exemplified each of these ministries in their actions, acting as both the salt and the light of the world as they were intended to be. While the patristic era of the Church shone in ascetical feats and wonders concerning self-discipline and prayerful prowess, it lost sight of the social nature of the Church and the Christian ministry to be the light of Christ in the world of darkness. Monasteries began to fashion, Christian nations became hostile to non-Christian ones, and the ecclesiastically established hoarded masses of wealth while the many of the laity starved in dirt huts. The impact which this decline had on the Christian faith has affected the contemporary world today.

As Christians, we have the obligation and joyful responsibility to reverse this decline of participation in the ministry of light. If we fail to do so, then our Christian faith ultimately will lose its saltiness, and our home is no longer founded on a hill but is hidden in a valley. We become not harbingers of truth but hiders of our faith, since we fail to fulfill the ministries which God has so ordered us to cleanse the world.

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How can you participate in reviving the ministry of the light in your community?