September 1, 2015

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” Mark 9:49-50

“In giving admonition we must distinguish between: men and women; the young and the old; the poor and the rich; the joyful and the sad; subjects and superior; slaves and masters; the wise of this world and the dull; the impudent and the timid; the insolent and the fainthearted; the impatient and the patient; the kindly and the envious; the sincere and the insincere; those who fear afflictions and, therefore, live innocently, and those so hardened in evil as to be impervious to the correction of affliction; the meek and the choleric; the humble and the haughty; those who do not even begin to do good and those who begin but do not finish; those who do evil secretly and good openly, and those who hide the good they do, yet allow themselves to be thought ill of because of some things they do in public...” Pastoral Care, Gregory the Great (540 – 604) “For All The Saints”, volume II (p. 451 – 452)

Which are you quickest to hide: the evil or the righteous, the bad or the good? Most would say they try to hide the bad they do, and allow the good to shine in the light of day. If you are someone who will do good only if you will receive either recognition or some kind of reimbursement, then maybe you need to take a step back and assess what you do and why you do it. Jesus says: “When you fast do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18)

It is not often that we have people who do a lot of ministry and yet do not want any recognition for what they do. But every once in a while I encounter a person or a group who do just that. We have a group at my church who are individually and collectively involved in many ministries, yet they do not want others to know what it is they do. For the Lutheran church, this is a bit of an oddity. Often you look around the church, especially the Lutheran church, and you see plaques and signs recognizing a person or persons who donated this window, or gave that piano. But this group of willing workers do not want the recognition. They have “salt” in themselves and use that salt, not so that others notice, but so they can season the lives of others.

Pastor Dave