5th Sunday After Epiphany, Year A. Series

We can only grasp the significance of the message of the Cross when we receive the discernment which comes with the new birth. The same Holy Spirit who searches the deep things of God is at work in our hearts also (1 Corinthians 2:14-15).

Paul refers to Isaiah 40:13, which asks ‘who has directed the Spirit of the LORD?’

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?” asks the Apostle. Then he makes the audacious comment: “But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Elsewhere, Paul prefixes his discussion of the humility of Jesus with, ‘Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 2:5).

This is not super-spirituality, but a daily taking up of the Cross and following Jesus (Luke 9:23).

It is only possible to “have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) because we have the Holy Spirit.

D). SALT, LIGHT, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Matthew 5:13-20.

I). SALT AND LIGHT.

Matthew 5:13-16.

The metaphors of salt and light follow immediately after Jesus’ profile of the blessed Christian. The meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5) because meekness is not weakness, but quite the contrary. The peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) are surely not merely sitting at home in their closets contemplating God?

Even the threat of persecution (Matthew 5:10-11) should never drive the church so far underground that we are no longer communicating the gospel through our life and attitudes towards those around us: rather we are to be set on a hill (Matthew 5:14). We are not of this world, but we have a role to play until such time as the Lord sees fit to take us out of here (John 17:15-16). We are to shun evil, but we were never meant to be so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly use, as the saying goes.

Salt (Matthew 5:13) is a particularly useful commodity. Trade is built upon it; wars have been fought over it; taxes upon it have been resisted. Films have even been made about it. Its uses range from being a condiment to being a preservative. At one time no house could do without it.

Pure salt is not necessarily capable of decay, but it loses its savour when mixed with that which is not salt. Other white powders exist on the coasts of the Dead Sea, which may be mistaken for salt. And if the mixture becomes wet, it is the real salt which is dissolved.

If we allow an admixture of non-Christian principles to permeate our lives, then our effective saltiness is lost. The residue of that which has lost its saltiness makes for a good footpath, but little else. The Christian who compromises his testimony loses the respect even of those who used to persecute him.

Light (Matthew 5:14) is also an essential commodity. If you have ever been travelling through the countryside to a town or city, and seen the distant lights of your destination seeming to draw ever closer, then that is the picture which we have here. If the city is built on a hill, then you will not miss it, though you might quite fail to find a small village nestling in a hidden valley.

Likewise in our homes (Matthew 5:15), we tend to have a source of illumination in every room. We do not keep our reading lamps under a rhubarb bucket in the porch (if we have such a thing). Electric lamps are most likely to be on the ceiling, where their light can disseminate throughout the room.