The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew the 5th Chapter
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes three common things everyone listening to him then would have known and mixes them into a metaphor cocktail that told the people what their mission was and how far that mission was meant to reach. First he says, you are the “salt of the earth.” He isn’t talking about table salt here. The “salt of the earth” is a specific salt. It is Epsom Salts or Magnesium Sulphate which you mix in with the soil so your plants grow better. Magnesium is essential for plants to transform light into energy. Jesus is telling us that we’re called to transform the world from the way it works now into the way God wants it to work… into the Kingdom of God, a place where everyone has enough… enough food, shelter, dignity, worth, security... enough.
The second salt Jesus talks about is a salt you taste so this one IS table salt or Sodium Chloride. That salt is first a food preservative which allows you to keep foods longer, transport foods over greater distances and therefore feed more people. So the next part of our mission is to feed people, to bring people life. But Sodium Chloride is also a flavor enhancer, so whatever flavor is already there in food... sweet or savory... it boosts that flavor... kicks it up a notch. So, Jesus tells us the way we transform the world is to bring people life, but not just any life. We’re to bring them a life that is kicked up a notch. In John’s Gospel, Jesus calls it an Abundant Life which is not simply a ‘get by day to day’ kind of life, but an exceptional life, a life filled with meaning, worth and purpose.
The third metaphor is a lamp which, when used correctly, would shine into every corner of the people’s one room houses. With this final metaphor, Jesus tells us that life... that abundant, world transforming kind of life he talked about before... is meant to reach into every corner of the world. It’s meant to shine on all people and when Jesus says all, Jesus means ALL.
That’s our mission and where it is meant to reach. Making that happen in the world is what we as Christians are called to do. BUT... (there’s always a but, isn’t there?) BUT... along with those metaphors that tell us our mission and it's reach, Jesus also acknowledges that sometimes when we walk that path, sometimes when we try to do those things, sometimes when we try to change the world... STUFF happens.
Jesus says salt can loose it’s taste and sometimes a basket can smother the light. Now a science nerd, like me, would tell you that pure salt can’t technically loose it’s taste. However, if you mined your salt from around the Dead Sea in the wrong spot it could be contaminated with a lot of other minerals, or if you bought your salt from a shady salt dealer it might be full of sand. In THOSE cases, when STUFF happens to your salt, then the salt won’t taste like it should and the salt won’t work like it should.
We’ve all had times in our lives where our saltiness and our light has run into trouble.... We’ve all had times when STUFF happens. Grief, loss, abandonment, betrayal, sabotage, tragedy, greed, selfishness, illness, disease, disaster and the list goes on and on but no matter what you call it... STUFF happens! One minute you were putting one foot in front of the other on your faithful journey... one minute you were working together to bring abundant life to the world... one minute you were making progress and the next minute.... you’re stopped dead in your tracks... clogged up, bogged down, fed up, beat down, oppressed and depressed.
When stuff happens in our lives, the salt that is supposed to bring abundant life feels more like quicksand dragging us down. When stuff happens in our lives, our light can’t shine...in fact, it seems to take all our energy just to keep the flame lit, let alone shine it into the dark places of the world. You all know what it feels like when stuff happens because stuff happens to everyone. When stuff happens we can get stuck and when we get stuck we simply aren’t able to do the mission God has called us to do. Getting STUCK is the real STICKER in this lesson! So what do we do when stuff happens and we get stuck?
Jesus, here in the Sermon on the Mount, doesn’t tell us with words what to do about being stuck. Instead, he SHOWS us what to do. First, he doesn’t pretend STUFF doesn’t happen. Salt can loose it’s taste, Jesus says. It happens! Light can get a bushel basket slammed over the top of it, Jesus says. It happens! When STUFF happens we often don’t want to talk about it out of a fear that talking about it will make it worse. Jesus shows us here, that it is NOT talking about it that makes it worse and keeps us stuck.
Talking about it is important but what I’m about to tell you is the number one key... the take home message for this whole sermon. So wake up your neighbor and perk up your ears... because even though Jesus said it once already, this is something we all need to really HEAR. Ready? YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH! You are NOT the STUFF that happens in this life that messes with your saltiness! YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! You are NOT the STUFF that happens in life that slams a basket over your flame!
No matter how big or how much STUFF has happened to you over the years, that STUFF DOES NOT DEFINE YOU! That STUFF is real and it needs to be brought into the open, talked about and dealt with, but that STUFF is NOT WHO or WHOSE you are!
Take a look at the paper the ushers are handing out now. At the beginning of worship you each wrote down one word that you felt was the best thing about this congregation. We've gathered them together in this word cloud … take a look! THAT is who you are! You are all those things and more! YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH and YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH! YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! It is time to deal with the STUFF and then get on with bringing the world what it so desperately needs from you… God's LIFE AND LIGHT! Amen.
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