February 5, 2023 – Epiphany 5A

“[Jesus said:] “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. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, 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 in heaven. “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.” Matthew 5:13-20

Today’s lesson from Matthew is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount delivered by Jesus. In the first twelve verses of chapter five we heard the Blesseds. Now we have the “You Ares” – “You are the Salt of the Earth”, “You are the Light of the World”. Intuitively we know how important light and salt are to us. Throughout the millennia, salt has been an important seasoning, preservative and even a source of payment for wages – hence we have the idiom, “He isn’t worth his weight in salt.” And light, well, the first thing G-d created was light. So hearing how Jesus tells them, these disciples and others listening to him, that they are “salt” and “light” – well this would have been so empowering  to them. First Jesus had told them that their eternal futures were secured through their trust and faith in G-d – and now they are told they are elemental people – salt and light.

“You are the salt of the earth”, and “You are the light of the world”.  So what can we learn today from these statements? What does salt have to do with light? Well we know that Salt has various uses: it is almost a magical compound. Salt is an elemental part of the earth and it is essential in our body’s functioning. Like saltwater, our bodies are filled with salt – in a tear, in a drop of blood, in a bead of sweat. Without salt, our hearts would not beat, our blood would not flow, and our muscles would not work properly. I remember, during my few short years playing football, on those really hot, summer days of long practices, there were plenty of salt tablets to take if someone was getting overheated. If you haven’t figured it out yet, what I am saying is salt is an elemental part of our lives. 

So here we have Jesus speaking to his disciples, on the mountain, following what we commonly call the Beatitudes. He continues his Sermon on the Mount by telling his disciples “You are the salt of the earth.” What could he mean? But Jesus did not stop there. He also told them “You are the light of the world”. Now, I don’t have to tell anyone here how important light is to our lives. For Jesus, light has a profound meaning. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is described as the light that “shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”  When Robert Louis Stevenson was just a boy, he watched a lamp lighter lighting the lamps as he walked down the street.  Stevenson said to his pal “I am watching a man put holes in the darkness.” Jesus is the one who has come into the world to poke holes in the deep darkness of sin in this world. But here Jesus is telling his disciples that they are the light of the world. Jesus looks at his disciples and charges them to continue his work of “putting holes in the darkness of this world.”  Jesus charges us to do the same – we are to be lights for one another by living our lives in obedience to Christ’s commands.  When we do that, we will be light for our communities, for the world, and for our families – and we will salt the lives of others with our good deeds.

Pastor Dave