Billboards & Mirrors: Homily for the 5th Sunday OT 2026

5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A                                                              February 8, 2026
Fr. Alexander Albert                                                           St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville

N.B. Technical difficulties during streaming mean the video is broken up and incomplete.

Audio Re-recorded:

In 1835, a New York City printer named Jared Bell used his equipment to print an image on a special cloth-based paper that was 6 feet wide and 8 feet high. The specialized paper meant the image was durable enough to stay outside for a long time, thus marking the first ever modern billboard advertisement. Jared Bell used this cutting-edge marketing technology to advertise Barnum & Bailey’s circus. Now, almost 200 years later, billboards are so much a part of our experience that it’s hard to imagine driving anywhere without seeing them.

Jared Bell probably could not have imagined the day would come when advertising was so sophisticated that merely saying “I like Alaska” out loud would result in advertisements for Alaskan flights and cruises appearing the very same day on a device in your pocket. Yet here we are in that very reality and, nonetheless, billboards remain a standard part of the advertising and marketing arsenal. Why? Because getting someone’s attention is so valuable that any and every method that works will always find a use, no matter how advanced or how simple. Human attention is the most valuable resource in the universe.

Human attention, however, is useful for much more than making money and there are many ways it can be put to use. Do you know what else was invented in 1835? The mirror. Sure, there have always been ways to see your reflection in water and shiny pieces of metal, but the existence of a completely smooth, perfectly clear image of yourself was incredibly rare to the point of being mythical. St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians even references mirrors as something with an imperfect reflection, using it as an example of spiritual mysteries. But 1835 is when it became possible to consistently and cheaply layer smooth metal and glass in a way that everyone today now takes for granted.

Like a billboard, mirrors also make use of human attention. Only, instead of drawing that attention to itself, a mirror simply directs that attention back onto some aspect of reality. Unlike advertising which clamors for attention and often stretches the truth to make a sale, a mirror simply is. Its greatest power is not manipulation but simply being clear enough to reflect what’s already there, what’s already true. Sure, we can warp mirrors to distort reflections, but their most common design and most common use is to reflect reality plain and simple.

I can think of no better analogy than that for Jesus’ teaching today: “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” Especially when you remember that in other sermons Jesus specifically tells us not to show off and not to call attention to our prayers, fasting, and almsgiving, this command to let our light shine could be confusing. It could be confusing until you think of it like billboards and mirrors. Don’t call attention to your goodness like a billboard but do let your light shine like a mirror. A billboard advertises and has to add artificial light to be seen at night; a mirror simply reflects the light that is there. Truth is, the light is God’s anyway, so being a mirror is not “showing off,” it’s just honestly pointing people’s attention to what’s already there: the goodness of God.

A city set on a mountain doesn’t have to “get” your attention, it’s just plain visible because all on its own. The light Jesus asks you to shine isn’t about being noticeable, it’s about simply being good and knowing that goodness will reflect God like a mirror reflects light.

In the same way, if you are not good. If your heart is not animated by charity, if your mind is not illuminated by faith, if your will is not strengthened by hope then trying to act like you serve God, trying to act like you are holy or good or worthy of imitation is much like a billboard advertising the magical properties of essential oils. It’s a deception and even if you get some people to believe it, nothing truly lasting or beneficial will come of it. At best, you’re like a broken, dingy mirror that reflects very little light, if any. No amount of technical skill, natural talent, physical beauty, or tangible wealth can make up for the real power of grace and holiness in a soul. Ugly, poorly educated, inarticulate holy people always do more good than suave, connected, worldly people whose goodness is all performance and pride.

So, what exactly is Jesus asking you to do? He’s asking you to be good and then let rest happen naturally… or supernaturally. Isaiah the prophet tells us, “share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them” and much more. Do that without advertising, posting it online, or bragging about it. People will notice… or maybe they won’t, but your job is to be the mirror; it’s not your concern if people refuse to see.

There’s a time and place for advertising and marketing. The Church has to make itself known to the world and we do have to actually proclaim the gospel. But if we’re not already being good, if we’re not already reflecting light, then that’s all emptiness and deception.

This is Paul’s point in the second reading. “When I came to you… proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” If you know Jesus Christ, if you truly know Christ crucified, then you will be light, you will be salty without having to fake it.

So, resolve to know Jesus Christ and him crucified! I’ve already said human attention is the most valuable resource in the world and I mean it. Where your attention goes, there goes your soul. Instead of constantly letting other people harvest that resource from you for their profit, put it to good use! Do you want to go to heaven? Do you want other people to go to heaven? Do you want to be salt and light in this tasteless dark world? Then pay attention to Jesus Christ!

We fight a battle no generation of Christians has ever fought. One of the desert fathers, a man who spent his life fasting and praying and doing penance in the desert, who fought demons and was heroic in his virtue and holiness… that man once said a future generation of Christians would pray less, fast less, and do less impressive things but would still be holier than him. Why? Because future Christians would face battles he did not and, because they fought harder, they would get more credit even though, from the outside, they would look less successful. If you live at 10,000 feet of elevation, it’s impressive when you climb to 20,000. But if you live at 0 feet of elevation, then going up to 15,000 is actually more of an accomplishment.

We are that generation. We have more competition for our attention than any generation in history – billboards and screens and constant sound. But we still have to fight to put that attention to where it belongs. So, fight! Your salvation depends on it. The salvation of those you love depends on it. You will not find happiness on the billboards of the world, but in the mirrors of Jesus Christ. Let fasting and penance turn your attention away from them. Use prayer and almsgiving to look long and hard into the mirrors of scripture, Church teaching, and the lives of the saints… to look carefully at the mirrors of your conscience, your spiritual community, and the sacraments.

Pay no attention to those who would sell you fruit for the price of your soul. Pay no attention to who pays attention to you. That’s all a circus on a billboard. Pay attention instead to the light in the darkness, to Jesus Christ and him crucified. Then be the mirror you’re meant to be.