February 5, 2023 – 5th Sunday after Epiphany
Today, we get the second installment from Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Last week, we heard Jesus’ blessing for those of us who live in certain ways, examples of which were called out in the Beatitudes.
Remember that Jesus was talking to people on the northwestern shore of Galilee, between Capernaum and the archeological site of Gennesaret, on the southern slopes of the Korazim Plateau. It’s about 75 feet below sea level, but nearly 700 feet above the Sea of Galilee.
When the water in the Dead Sea evaporates, it leaves behind both salt and a mineral that looks like salt, gypsum. Now for us, gypsum doesn’t have any of the qualities of salt (like saltiness) and it has different uses than salt. But since the two look similar, one could easily think that gypsum is salt. And with that, it’s likely gypsum that is being referred to in Jesus’ first statement. There is no adding saltiness to something that fundamentally isn’t salt. And so what good is gypsum when what you need is salt? Gypsum is useless for preserving or flavoring food.
Then, good old Jesus throws us for a loop. He tells those who are gathered that they are both “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” Salt and light are two different entities. We taste one and see the other.
Jesus – now moving from the Beatitudes where he told the people that they belong in heaven – tells the people how they function in the kingdom as salt and light if they live true. You’ll remember last week that I talked about the privileges and responsibilities that we have for living in the kingdom of God, and they’re the same here. The “good works” that Jesus values in verse 16 are, among other things, living as the Beatitudes tell us. Next week, we’ll hear more about other examples of good works that might lead others to give glory to God.
From Jesus’ sermon, we are supposed to understand that losing OUR saltiness is a matter of becoming foolish towards God. God is the one who tramples what doesn’t belong, what doesn’t give thanks, at the final judgment. When it comes to being like light, Jesus tells us what is painfully obvious: a city built on a hill cannot hide. The lighthouse is built to be a beacon that catches attention and communicates a message to those who see it. When you try to cover a lamp that you’ve just lit, you are trying to put it out – something that seems completely contradictory.
In last week’s reading, Jesus reminded us that we are blessed to be a blessing. Similarly, we are light. Light can be of a great benefit to others – they can worship God behind us as we do good works.
Like salt is to taste, light is to sight, and Jesus formulates an even stronger object lesson with light. Salt that isn’t actually salt will be thrown out because it’s useless, but a light can be of great benefit to others to the point that they worship the God behind your good works. Jesus’ time here on earth shows us the salt and light of God’s plans. In Jesus, we see the brightness and taste the preservation of our God who reconciles all things.
In the way that Jesus lived, taught, healed, preached, and abided with God and God’s people, we see the light that shines for the goodness of others. We taste our own preservation through Jesus’ works. Jesus does so in ways that are completely out of sync with the ways of the world, and calls us to do the same—even within the confines of our religious expressions.
Jesus is completing the imagery of salt and light: unless we are who we are – people in his kingdom – then we are not actually people of his kingdom.
As I said last week, We cannot continue to keep the gift of our church to ourselves. We must share it. It’s scary stuff. It’s hard work. It makes us feel better if we don’t have to do the work. But we are not blessed because we keep to ourselves. We are blessed by God to be a blessing to others. Let us keep our light shining, so that those who follow behind us can use that light to come to God.