"salt And Light"

“Salt and Light”

Matthew 5:13-16

Today’s lesson comes right after, what are called the Beatitudes—or what we talked about last Sunday—it’s the beginning of Jesus’ great big famous Sermon on the Mount.

You see, even though Jesus was just beginning His public ministry, He had already attracted quite a following.

We are told right before Chapter 5 that Jesus “went throughout Galilee…proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”

And, “News about [Jesus] spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.”

Then we are told, “Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him…”

And “when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside, sat down, His disciples came to him, and he” started preaching.

And looking up at Him were the suffering masses.

They were the poor, the uneducated, the disillusioned, the abused, the misfits, the oppressed and the marginalized.

They had no power.

And they never expected to have any power.

They were just trying to survive another day.

Jesus looked at them and Jesus said:

“You are the salt of the earth.”

“You are the light of the world.”

What do you think they thought of that?

Did they think Jesus was crazy?

And what was Jesus thinking in saying something so radical—especially to that motley crew?

In ancient Israel, salt was a part of the rituals of sacrifice.

Before modern refrigeration, salt was a necessity when it came to preserving foods.

How important is salt?

40 million tons are required each year to fill our needs.

Homer called salt divine.

Plato called it a "substance dear to the gods."

Shakespeare mentioned salt 17 times in his plays.

Perhaps Leonardo da Vinci wanted to send a subtle message about purity lost when he painted "The Last Supper."

In that painting an overturned bowl of salt is conspicuously placed before Judas.

In ancient Greece a far-flung trade involving the exchange of salt for slaves gave rise to the expression, "...not worth his salt."

Special salt rations were given to Roman soldiers and known as "Solarium Argentums" the forerunner of the English word "salary."

Thousands of Napoleon's troops died during his retreat from Moscow because their wounds would not heal--their bodies lacked salt.

The human body contains about 4oz. of salt.

Without enough of it, muscles won't contract, blood won't circulate, food won't digest and the heart won't beat a beat.

Without a doubt, salt is essential for life.

Salt is a BIG DEAL!

And light?

They didn’t even have electricity when Jesus gave this sermon.

Therefore, they could really only accomplish and do things during the day—when the sun was out.

I mean, ever try and read a book in the dark—without a lamp or a flashlight?

Ever try and find your way through the woods in total darkness?

“You are the salt of the earth.”

“You are the light of the world.”

And Jesus said this to this humble mob.

And I think it’s interesting and telling that the word “you” in this sentence is plural.

In other words, it’s not any one of them by themselves, but if they work together…

Last week two representatives from the Chattanooga Area Food Bank made an appointment to come speak to me in order how to find out what we did to make The Red Bank Community Food Pantry so successful—in other words, what’s the secret ingredient?

They have been extremely impressed by the money we have been able to raise, the number of volunteers, how organized the operation is—the way the Community has come together and the amount of people we are feeding—between 700 and 800 a month, and we’ve only been operating since October.

They want to be able to replicate what we are doing here across the county.

That’s quite a compliment given that the Chattanooga Area Food Bank is part of a National Network of Food Banks called: “Feeding America.”

And so, I told them how we started, with a calling from God, and community meetings in our sanctuary.

We talked for about an hour, or I did.

And what I kept saying over and over was that we couldn’t do this by ourselves—just one church—it takes everyone working together.

It is a community effort, and the fact that it works is nothing short of a miracle from God.

And being involved with the Food Pantry is like living within a miracle—it’s like a modern-day version of the miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000.

Red Bank Baptist is involved, financially as well as with volunteers.

Journey Church plays a big role as does the Red Bank Church of Christ, Cumberland Presbyterian, White Oak Baptist, One Accord Church, Mountain Ministries, Mission Red Bank, the Mayor of Red Bank, the Vice Mayor along with a number of businesses and individuals from different churches and walks of life.