"Salt and Light"
Matthew 5:13-16
I often don't feel like "salt" and "light."
I can be pretty self-centered.
I often say things I shouldn't say and do things I shouldn't do.
I'm not always nice.
And I would imagine that Jesus' first disciples probably felt pretty much the same way.
Our Gospel Lesson breaks in on the beginning of Jesus' famous "Sermon on the Mount" which starts at Matthew Chapter 5 and moves all the way through to the end of Matthew Chapter 7.
And this sermon contains some of Jesus' most provocative, earth-shaking, and radical teachings!!!
At this very early point in Jesus' ministry, He has been traveling throughout Galilee, "teaching in...synagogues," announcing the good news of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of diseases and sicknesses.
So, it should come as no surprise that a sort-of snowball effect is beginning to take place.
More and more people are following Jesus from one place to another.
We are told that "News spread about him throughout Syria" and "Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from areas beyond the Jordan River."
And these large crowds brought to Jesus "all those who had various kinds of diseases, those in pain, those possessed by demons, those with epilepsy, and those who were paralyzed, and he healed them."
Wow!!!
What are we to compare this too?
There had to have been--literally--thousands of folks who were tagging along with Jesus at this point.
And the majority of these people, the greatest percentage of those in the crowd were most likely people who were in some pretty desperate straits.
They probably weren't the bankers, the leaders of government, the people in charge, the folks who could afford to live in luxury and opulence.
More than likely, they were the sick, the homeless, the ramblers, the beggars, the poor, the dirty, the desperate, the unhappy.
And so in verse 1 of Matthew Chapter 5 we are told that "when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountain.
He sat down and his disciples came to him."
And then He began to speak, and teach and preach:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek..."
And He goes on and on...
...He's pretty much describing His disciples and the crowds who are gathered on down the mountainside, listening in.
Then Jesus says a pretty scary thing which is: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
And right after that, Jesus speaks directly to the disciples and thus, directly to you and me and says: "You are the salt of the earth...
You are the light of the world..."
I would imagine that if the disciples understood, even a little of what Jesus had said before this, they weren't particularly happy about His commissioning them and naming them "salt" and "light."
Because salt and light stand out!!!
Salt and light are noticed.
Salt and light can't be missed.
My guess is that, at this point, the disciples may have looked around at each other--each of them wondering: "What have I gotten myself into?"
"Suddenly I am not sure I want to be doing this anymore."
And Jesus, seeing their fearful glances, adds: "But if salt loses its saltiness...It's good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people's feet...
...A city on a hill can't be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket.
Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven."
In other words, there's no getting out of it folks.
If you are going to follow Me, you are going to be noticed!!!
You are going to make a positive difference in this world.
And people aren't always gonna like you for it.
Now, in telling His disciples, His followers of every moment in history that we are "the light of the world" and "the salt of the earth" He isn't telling us that we are exceptionally strong or good.
He's not telling us that we are any better than anyone else.
What He is basically saying is: "If you follow Me you are a member of the Kingdom of God..."
...and...
..."If you follow me, this Kingdom Movement is not about you. It's not even about the good YOU will do or the truth YOU will bring."
Jesus is saying, "The credit is not even supposed to be yours, if that is what is bothering you."
"If you follow Me you will go to the places I go, and do the things I do..."
...you will be salt; you will be light--that's just the way it works."
A friend of mine told me about one Fall afternoon, when her grandfather was at home with her grandmother and they heard a knock on the door.
The visitor was a neighbor lady who said to her grandfather, "I was out feeding the horses, and I felt like God was prompting me to come and say thank you for the difference you've made in my life."
She sat down and began to tell stories about times when my friend's grandfather had been like salt and light in her life.
She thanked him.
She went through a litany of his good deeds, including bringing peace in relationships with some of her children.
She finished with, "I just felt like God wanted me to tell you that."
My friend's grandfather paused and looked at her and said, "It was the Lord Jesus Christ who did it."
There was another pause, and my friend's grandmother struck up a conversation with this lady.
A few moments later they heard a cough and saw my friend's grandfather slumped over.
He was with Jesus.
And his last words were, "It was the Lord Jesus Christ who did it."
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are not self-made; rather, we are created out of pure grace, out of the will of God.
I take what Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-10 as one of the best ways to say this: "You are saved by God's grace because of your faith.
This salvation is God's gift.
It's not something you possessed.
It's not something you did that you can be proud of.
Instead, we are God's accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things.
God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives."
In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus looked directly at some guys, who, just weeks or a couple of months earlier were nothing but fishermen and tax collectors.
And Jesus looked at this motley crew He had hand-picked, and He said to them: "You are the salt of the earth...
..."You are the light of the world."
What do you think they made of this?
How did this make them feel?
Do you think they felt up to this task?
I mean, they knew who they were.
They knew their short-comings.
They knew what they had done in their previous lives.
And they knew how much of who they were in their previous lives--was still who they were!!!
But it wasn't about them, was it?
And it's not about us either.
What it is about is allowing ourselves to be Who Jesus has created us to be--and that is--salt and light!!!
So what is "salt"?
What is "light"?
Why does Jesus use these two metaphors to describe His followers?
Well, salt is a small thing with great value.
Think about it.
Just a pinch of salt can make a huge difference.
And salt doesn't just add flavor--it enhances flavor.
As cooks and chemists will attest, salt brightens and sharpens other flavors that already exist.
In the same way, we, as followers of Jesus Christ are to do what Jesus has called us to do; we are to be who Jesus has called us to be...
...we are to allow Christ's life to be our lives; we are to do what Jesus does; we are to go where Jesus goes...
...we are to bring Jesus' flavor into a bland, bored, unloved, often-times unlovely and apathetic world.
Zombies are really popular these days.
I have no idea why.
But there are so many folks who appear to be going through this life like zombies--like the "living dead."
Sure, they are living and breathing.
Sure, they all have great potential.
They all have great gifts and special personality traits that God has put in them--talents--which are meant for good...
...but so many folks are not using their God-given talents for God's purposes, at least.
It's as if they are letting these talents, these beautiful gifts lay dormant.
Salt doesn't just add flavor to things; salt brings out the flavor that is already there.
It brings the flavor, the taste, the talents and gifts alive!!!
When we, as salt, bring glory to God, the flavor in others comes alive--is resurrected from the grave, and zombies become God's people...
...born again...
...born anew...
...born of the Spirit...
"Created in Christ Jesus to do good things."
And, "God planned for these good things to be the way we live our lives."
As Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation.
The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!"
Jesus says to the first rag-tag group of disciples and Jesus says to you and even me: "You are the light of the world.
A city on top of a hill can't be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket.
Instead, they put it on a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house."
Again, the amazing thing about Jesus' statement is both the audacity of it and the service expected of it.
Light, like salt is a relatively small thing that, if it is handled right, can make a huge difference!!!
When you volunteer your time in the kitchen during East Ridge Cares 4 Kids, or do some tutoring, or play with the children, or smile at them and allow them to hug you--you are being light.
When you help make pancakes on Sunday mornings, teach Sunday school, help with Children's Church, sing in the choir, bring food for the food pantry, visit someone who is sick or elderly or mourning--you are being light.
When you take time out of your day or evening to come to meetings at the church, serving on committees, being diligent to do your part--you are being light.
When you give your time and money--you are being light.
When you share a kind word with another human being--no matter what that other human being looks like or smells like--you are being light.
When you drive the church van to pick up children so they can come to church or folks who are unable to drive themselves--you are being light.
When you humble yourself, get out of the way--and allow Jesus to take control--you are being light.
When you turn the other cheek when the easiest thing would be to take an "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth"--you are being light.
When you pray for your enemies and do good to those who seek to harm you--you are being light.
In his book, "Man's Search for Meaning," Viktor Frankl tells how a distant light helped him through the hellish darkness of living in a Nazi concentration camp.
The camp was ugliness incarnate with its dormitories, smoke spewing crematoriums, and treeless grounds bound by barbed wire.
The apparent hopelessness of the situation caused many people give up in despair.
But in the distance, there was a house surrounded by trees.
And early in the morning on cold winter days, the glow coming from that farmhouse became a beacon of hope.
Frankl envisioned a normal family gathered around the hearth.
And for him, that vision meant that the lights had not gone out in all the world...
...and one day, the present darkness would be overcome by light!!!
Jesus said, to a ragtag group of disciples...
...Jesus says to you...
...Jesus says to me...
..."You are the light of the world...let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven."
If there is anything that the people living in this neighborhood and this world need--it is a beacon of hope!!!
And when you and I live the lives God has created us--in Christ Jesus--to live--we are that beacon.
The good that Christians do in the name of and through the power of Jesus Christ--give the hopeless, the broken hearted, the lost, those living in darkness, those living like zombies--hope...
...and hope turns into faith, and faith turns into love and love turns into good deeds...
What could be more important?
What could be better?
"You are the light of the world."
"You are the salt of the earth."
By the grace of God, may it be so.
May it be so.
Amen.
