2-8-26                     Matthew 5:13-20

[Jesus said:] 13 “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.
  14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
  17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 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. 19 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. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

God looks for salt and light in you, so sparkle and shine today.

You are the salt of the earth. That may not seem to be the most complimentary comparison Jesus could make about you. All by itself salt isn’t that good.  When combined with food, it however can bring out the flavors and enhance the taste of what you are eating. Salt purifies, softens, cleans, and preserves. In your body it can keep your blood circulating and your muscles able to contract. We use it to keep our vehicles on the road and our boots from slipping on the ice. It’s not too good on its own but salt is meant to work in many ways as it combines with other things.

You are the light of the world. If you ever drive at the time of day that the sun is shining at the level of your eyes, in the morning or early evening, you must quickly look away or shield your eyes. Direct light does not enable you to see but rather blinds you! Light only becomes an asset when you look away from the source and toward what it is illuminating. A little light can change the scary darkness of night into the warm safety of the day. Light can provide warmth, reveal beauty, and protect from dangers. It can cheer us as it opens up a vista that had been hidden from our eyes. 

Jesus is teaching his followers that they have potential, together, they can be positive ingredients in their environment. The “You”, being salt and light, are in the plural form. Meaning You are to be acting together with others like you, and what you do will have meaningful effect, on the earth and in the world; for nature, land and people, as we co-exist with and for humanity as we live together in community.  As salt we are to bring out the goodness in one another. As light we are to enlighten and clarify the goodness which God brings among us. In that way others will recognize, through the faith community, the reflection of Christ that removes the cold and dark from the world they face.

This community of believers is not to ignore or avoid the realities of this society and place in which we live. We do not create a life apart, we are fully involved with this time and place, as it exists. As we were reminded last week, with the beatitudes, this world is marked by wealth and poverty, its people face loss and grief, injustice exists alongside acts of justice, mercy is given but cruelty is also real. We have known times and acts of peace even as there remains violence and war. Jesus is teaching his followers to be mission oriented with the challenge of “salting” and transforming real life situations so the good will come to light, being seen and then practiced and spread. The darkness that audience of Jesus was experiencing under their Rome-occupied world, was to be recognized as the oppressive regime it was and the injustices overturned. That task has proven to be an ongoing one, for still today, the world is significantly out of shape, as we continue to have competing powers and interest groups vying for supremacy and control, so theirs is the say so!

To some of those who heard Jesus, it seemed he was proposing a wholesale change, starting new by even eliminating their history and past interaction with their God. Jesus let them know that was not the case, he is building on the revelation and experience that they have had with God from the start and the rule God had always sought to establish with and through them. In Matthew’s account, we are given several claims from Jesus about his plans, first that he is not discounting or abolishing scripture but interpreting them in the way God had anticipated they be understood. He said: I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. So Jesus in his words and actions are the criterion which we are to determine how and who we are to be.

He then takes it further, the authority of scripture is permanent, not to be removed until heaven and earth pass away, then it won’t be needed, for God’s kingdom would be a total reality.  Now those texts are to be taught accurately and observed and if a teacher lives and explains in contradiction to God’s way, they will be considered least in God’s kingdom. Therefore, it is imperative that we emphasize God’s Word in the way which Jesus taught us. The central tenets of our belief are to be faithfulness, and our acts are to promote justice, mercy and love. 

Then we get from Jesus that very uncomfortable demand that our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. The reputation of those scribes and Pharisees was their incredibly strict observance of the rules and practices of their religion. We would not want to be held to their standard; I certainly would not. We should remember that Jesus is not proposing a competition where we are given scores or that we can earn a goodness bonus, receiving stars and high marks. It is righteousness that is called for, which refers to our trust in the one who came and did indeed live as God wants. It is Jesus, the Son in whom God was well pleased, that has shown us how to love and show mercy.  It is Jesus, who gave His life for us, in whom we are to depend for our salvation. It is Jesus: who would have us be His body in the world, giving a hand and walking in the way we are to be.  We are not meant to compete but to follow Him. That is how we can be guided in being salt and light. In reflecting Jesus, in community, we can bring light into this world removing the darkness with love and mercy and offer a peace that enhances the spice of life sharing it with all.