Salt and Light
Introduction.
If you were to ask anyone with a basic knowledge of the Bible about the Sermon on the Mount, they would probably quote at least one of the Beatitudes. However, the Beatitudes are a part, an important part but only a part of a much larger picture that Jesus wanted to convey to his listeners. The Sermon on the Mount is believed by many, and I count myself amongst them, to be a challenge to the way the Jewish people of the time, should live their lives in a right relationship with God. I believe that the words of the sermon have an equal bearing on the way; God wants the Christians of today to live our lives. The sermon in its entirety is of so much importance, that Matthew gave it three whole chapters in his gospel. In later verses Jesus teaches on subjects such as; the law, anger, lust, divorce, retaliation and love of enemies to name just a few. However, before he teaches about any of these, he teaches in verses 13 to 16, that we Christians are to be “salt and light”. Jesus always had a reason for everything he said and did, and I believe his reason for speaking about these before any of the other teachings was because, if we can get these two important factors right in our lives, then the others should fall naturally into place.
Salt,
In verse 13 Jesus says “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
I do not know if there are any chemists in the room, but when I did chemistry at school, I was taught that the salt we use on our food cannot actually lose its saltiness. However, the salt used in those days was actually a white powder that was taken from around the Dead Sea which consisted of many elements, Sodium Chloride (pure salt) was one of them and it was probably the most soluble of the elements and as such was easily washed out. What was left, looked like and was probably still called salt but had none of the properties or taste of salt, in effect it was little more than road dust.
Why did Jesus compare his followers to salt?
Salt has long been used as a way of preserving food, especially in the days prior to refrigeration. It also has medicinal properties, widely regarded as one of the most effective antiseptics known to humankind. When I was a young boy living in a small mining village close to Doncaster, there was a Scottish doctor in the local N.H.S. practice; he had posters on his wall, warning of the dangers of smoking and an ashtray full of cigarette ends on his desk! People dreaded visiting him because no matter what the ailment was, his recommended remedy was always salt and water. This was fine for minor cuts, sore throats or mouth ulcers, but not so good for suspected appendicitis. I also recall that he prescribed the remedy to my mother, when she was suffering with morning sickness whilst carrying my sister.
Salt prevents decay; it adds flavour to food, it acts as an abrasive, in Jesus’ time it was used as payment, Roman soldiers serving in hot climates received a monthly salt ration as part of their wages, which gives us the modern day term “salary”. It was also used to seal contracts, in Numbers 18 verse 19 we read “Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.” The “Covenant of salt” would have been a recognisable illustration to those listening to Jesus as he preached on the mount, but how does it apply to us today?
In sharing our experiences of Christ with others, in living our lives according to his teaching, we are passing on that covenant by being the living salt. We are the salt of the earth because, as Christians, we are called to add flavour to the lives of others; we are called to be agents in stopping the spread of moral decay, we are called to be abrasive, to speak up when we see injustice even if it means rubbing people up the wrong way. If as Christians, we cease to have any positive influence on the world around us, in our schools, workplaces or the wider community, if we see society becoming rotten but do nothing about it, if all we do is blend in with our surroundings, then we will cease to be salty and allow ourselves to be trampled underfoot as the road-dust we will have become.
Light;
In Matthew 5: 14-16, Jesus says “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Lights have many uses, they can be used to warn of danger, not so long ago light-houses were a common feature along the coasts of the world, advances in radar and sonar technology has meant a decline in the numbers of them, but their purpose was to warn of possible destruction on the shoals of rocks that line the coastlines of the world. Road signs are usually illuminated at night to warn motorists of possible dangers, where they are not illuminated they are made of material that reflects the light of oncoming traffic. Neon lit signs are common not only in cities these days, although it could be said that their light is not always positive. Where would we be if Joseph Swan had not invented the electric light bulb?
Whatever their use one thing is certain, they would all be ineffective if you covered them up. So why did Jesus say “You are the light of the world”? In John 8: 12, he says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Again in John 9: 5, he says “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” But in Matthew 5: 14, he says “You are the light of the world...” What did Jesus mean? I tend to agree with Stuart Briscoe in his book The Sermon on the Mount, in it he writes “We continue what he started....Put those three passages together and what do you have? We are now what Christ was then. While he was here, he was the light. Now that he is gone, we are the light.” (Briscoe, 1996; 62)
We as Christians are called to be Christ’s ambassadors in this world, a world that is filled with darkness, a darkness in which we are commissioned by Jesus to be welcoming beacons of light. Jesus said “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Speaking from a personal point of view, I know how it felt to walk around in the darkness, my family and I had some very dark days, before I surrendered to the light of Jesus. It is because I know how it feels to live in the darkness that I now choose to be a light for Christ and to live in his light. Please do not misunderstand me, there are days when my light is barely a flicker, in fact there are days when it does not shine at all. I am sure some of you have days like that, but you do not have to beat yourselves up about it. Jesus understands that we are not perfect; if we were then he would not have had to surrender to the cross. We can however, take steps to make it possible for our lights to shine again. (Hold up solar garden light)
Most of you will have seen these lights; perhaps some of you have them in your gardens. They have batteries in them but those batteries only work after they have been charged up by the light of the Sun, once they are charged they will give off light through the darkness of the night. Just as the batteries on the garden lights are charged by the Sunlight we can be charged by the Son’s light by spending time in prayer, spending time reading our Bibles and spending devotional time with the Son of God.
You might say to yourself “There is nothing wrong with my light, it shines perfectly bright.” That’s brilliant, if you will pardon the pun, but if the only time we allow our light to shine is on a Sunday here in church, then we are wasting that light, to put it another way it would be like using a torch to find your way on a sunny day. Our lights need to shine in the world, so that we may be lighthouses guiding travellers on the stormy seas of life to the safe harbour of Christ. We need to be like the road signs that at night reflect the light of oncoming headlights and allow the light of Christ to reflect in us.
As I mentioned earlier lights have many uses, the most common of which is to show the way, in closing I just want to share a story I remember reading once, though I cannot remember where.
It was a dark stormy Sunday night; the stranger edged nervously toward the mercy seat and knelt. Sobbing his heart out, he allowed the Pastor to pray with him, a few moments later he surrendered his life to the Lord. Afterwards one of the church elders approached him, after introducing himself he said, “I have not seen you here before, but could not help but notice you at the mercy seat. How are you feeling?”
“Pretty surprised!” the stranger replied, “I was lost on the road outside, I saw the lights on so I came in to ask for directions, I guess I found them.”
Jesus called us “The salt of the earth and light of the world”, as we leave here tonight and go to our homes, into our workplaces, schools, colleges, even as we do our weekly shopping. Let us add flavour to the lives of those around us by being the salt, let us allow our light to shine in their lives, so that they may have the path to salvation lit for them. It does not take much, a friendly word here and there, a warm smile to a friend or even a stranger, but let us be the salt and the light.
Song number 628 in The Salvation Army song book, the opening verse reads;
“Saviour of light, I look just now to thee; Brighten my path, so only shall I see. Thy footprints, Lord, which mark the way for me; Light of my life, so surely thou wilt be, O man of Galilee.”
While we remain seated to sing the song, take some time to reflect on how you can be the salt and the light in the lives of those around you. It may be that some of us feel that we have lost a little of our saltiness or our lights are not shining as bright as they could be, or have not yet received the blessing of living in the light of Christ. If this is you, take a few moments to either recommit yourself to or meet with God for the first time. On the mercy seat, you will see a bowl of salt and some tea lights, feel free to approach our place of prayer to light one of the tea lights as a symbol of your re- commitment. It does not matter if it is at the mercy seat tonight or if you take one and light it at home, it is more important that it is wherever you feel most comfortable approaching God.
