"SALT AND LIGHT" Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany February 9, 2020 Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church Glenshaw, Pennsylvania TEXT: "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)
Even most unbelievers will readily acknowledge that during His earthly ministry Jesus was a master when it came to teaching abstract ideas by means of analogy. His parables are probably the best-known example of this, but throughout His teaching we find again and again times when the Lord made the incomprehensible easy to understand by comparing it to something common and down-to-earth. These words from the Lord's Sermon on the Mount that serve as this morning's text are an example. Here the Savior teaches His followers about the kind of influence that they are to have in the unbelieving world in which they live, and He does it by using simple things that people use every day. He compares His people's purpose in life with that of salt in food and light in a dark place.
This particular teaching of Jesus used to bother me when I was younger. I thought that this idea of letting others see our good works contradicted what Jesus says elsewhere in this sermon about keeping your good works private--even secret. So what are we supposed to do--show off our good works or hide them? I began to feel a little better about this when I began to understand that Jesus is telling us to hide our good works not from others but from ourselves. It's okay if other people notice how we live because of our loyalty to Christ, but the minute that we start to take credit for our Christian lifestyle, then we're in trouble. With that distinction in mind, let's take a look at what our Lord teaches us here about our role as "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world."
To come to an understanding of what Jesus means when He tells us that we are "the salt of the earth," we must first ask the question: What is it that salt does for food? It can be used as a preservative to a certain extent. In fact, that was probably viewed as its greatest benefit in ancient times. But today the most obvious advantage that we see in adding salt to food is that it enhances the flavor of what we eat. The downside to salt, as we have come to realize all too well through the years, is that it is said to raise blood pressure. Now what does any of this have to do with us living the Christian life in the world? Since the values of this world are diametrically opposed to the values of the Gospel, I tend to doubt that the Lord desires us to have a preservative effect on our sinful world, but He certainly does want us to add the flavor of His Gospel to our environment. The people who we interact with should know, by our words and our behavior, that, if we are around, so is the Gospel of Christ. And just as salt, despite its benefits, causes some people's blood pressure to rise, the Gospel of Christ is bound to disturb those who don't want to hear it.
How are we as the people of God in Jesus Christ supposed to accomplish all of this? We do it by living the kind of life that exemplifies and demonstrates what our Savior did and taught, and we are to do this loudly and clearly--without compromise. We who claim Jesus Christ as Savior must rely on Him alone (and not on our own merits) to justify us in the sight of God. We who call Jesus our Lord must be committed to Him above all else. This has all kinds of practical applications in our everyday lives: We who are loved must also be loving. We who are forgiven must also be forgiving. If we live this kind of life consistently and openly, we are not going to be respected for it. We are going to be looked at as cowardly people who can't stand on their own merits or as pushy people who won't keep their religion to themselves. It's not easy to be what Jesus wants us to be in this world, but if we take the easy way out and tone down the message of His Gospel, we become like salt that has lost its flavor and is useless except to be thrown on a roadway.
In telling us that we are "the light of the world," Jesus is projecting on us what He has also said about Himself. In the Gospel of John He says: "I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12), and again: "As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world" (John 9:5). In our Baptism we have been united with Christ. His image has been impressed upon us. So it follows that we who bear His image are to project that image to others. The people who have dealings with us ought to see Christ in us--in the way we talk to others, in the way we treat others, and especially in the way we share with others what we know about human sin and divine grace as they are revealed in the Holy Scriptures and particularly in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
This role that our Savior has bestowed upon us--the role of being "the light of the world" is all the more important now that He is no longer physically present in this world on an everyday basis. He has commissioned us to be His successors in a sense. He who has accomplished salvation for all sinners and has returned to His glorious throne has entrusted His followers to proclaim that salvation in word and deed. Our voices are now His voice to condemn the arrogant and to forgive the penitent in His name. Our feet are now His feet to go to the ends of the earth and proclaim the Good News of His grace. Our hands are now His hands to reach out to others with deeds of compassion that put into practice the message of His redeeming love that we share. Again, if we fail to consistently and clearly, openly and honestly, let our world know what He has done and why He has done it, we are as useless as a light that is hidden and therefore does no one any good.
In calling us to be "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world," our Savior has bestowed upon us both a great privilege and a great responsibility. He has authorized (and even commanded) us to speak and live boldly in His name. How tragic it would be for us to be confronted on judgment day by a multitude of lost souls--people we knew in life--people we talked to, worked with, and socialized with--and to hear these lost souls say to us with tears: "You knew, but you didn't let us know. You knew the serious consequences of sin; why didn't you warn us? You knew the Way to forgiveness and everlasting life; why didn't you tell us about Him?" It's still not too late. Daily repenting of our sin, and especially of lost opportunities in the past, we receive, in Word and Sacrament, His forgiveness, empowering us to live the rest of our lives bringing the flavor and the light of His Gospel into our bland and dark world--in His name and with His presence and blessing. Amen.
May the God who caused light to shine out of darkness cause you to increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all people, as His love abounds for us; and may the glory of His Son be manifested to you and in you, that you may be witnesses to all nations now and until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen. ~