Being Salt and Light - Matthew 5:13-16

  

The beginning of a new year is always a good time to think about who we are as Bethel Church, and who we want to become as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and opening our hearts and minds to Jesus’ plans for us. It's important that God is at the center of all our dreams and hopes; that we’re known as a church that honours God and follows Jesus; known for our faithfulness and grace. This is where the Sermon on the Mount comes in. Jesus’ sermon brings together how Jesus desires his followers to live with each other and with God. Jesus begins with a series of blessings, though not blessings as we normally understand blessings and they end with Jesus saying, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." It's in this context that Jesus calls us to be salt and light.

It's easy to follow Jesus when everything is going well, however Jesus is talking about following him in a deliberate way during times when we’re looked at and considered a fool, and worse, by many in the community because we follow Jesus. It takes trust and faith in Jesus to embrace who he is calling us to be when it's quite different from most others around us. The challenge is to be salt and light when what we believe is right and wrong is different from the world around us. This is the situation the early church found themselves in. It's in this kind of an environment that we can really be salt and light through the strengthening and development of a Christ-like character, always responding with grace.

Proverbs reminds us that “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bone.” We can turn away a lot of anger and fear by how we respond in difficult circumstances. Peter calls us to “in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” Being salt and light is about being an agent of transformation, changing the environment around you. It's not about big stuff, it's about small consistent acts of grace based in your relationship with Jesus that creates significant differences around you and in the lives of others. Salt and light are not neutral elements, they make a difference, even if only a small difference. Jesus is telling us we’re change makers.

Miroslav Volk writes about how the West has changed over time. Augustine defined the supreme good that makes us truly happy as “a completely harmonious fellowship in the enjoyment of God, and each other in God.” Life was centered outwards to God and neighbour. Then humanism came along and rejected God, but the love of neighbour as being fundamental to human flourishing remained. However, in today’s culture, Volk sees human flourishing is becoming more defined as “experiential satisfaction,” which is centered on “concern for the self and the experience of satisfaction.” The idea of being salt that seasons a community or being light is slowly being lost today; this is why it’s so important for the church to show the way, walking in the way of Jesus. At the heart of being salt and light is in truly loving God with everything we are and loving our neighbours as ourselves, seeing everyone as precious because they’re created in the image of God.

Salt is used for many things, but most importantly it was used to season food and preserve food, especially meat which would otherwise rot. It's an important spice in hot climates, so important and useful that it’s even been used as currency or money at different times through history. It's a basic spice, nothing exotic or super special, and often cheap. It’s ordinary, it's easily overlooked until you don't have it. Salt seasons any food it's put into and a little goes a long way. It makes food taste better, enhances whatever you are cooking or baking. Without it, food is bland and not nearly as enjoyable.

How can you enhance the places God has put you, how can you make life better, more like God desires? It takes connecting with God and being open to the kind of person and church God is working to transform us into. It involves more listening to God than talking to God; it's about reading the Bible to discover who God is and how he works so we can become closer to God. It’s about asking God to help us see the people around us, and the life situations we're in ourselves, through his eyes and with his heart so that we can offer hope, encouragement, blessing, and even wise advice. Seasoning life around us is more about who we’re becoming as followers of Jesus than about specific actions and deeds.

Salt has been used as a preservative since ancient times. It works by absorbing water from foods, making the environment too dry to support harmful mold or bacteria. This allowed the people to keep their meat safe even though they had no refrigeration back then. Salt is used in healing, even today. Growing up, any time we cut or scraped ourselves badly, my mother would force us to soak the injured area in salt water in order to keep it from getting infected. Ancient Egyptians used salt water for treating wounds and stomach ailments while Greeks and Romans used it for treating scrapes, cuts, mouth sores, and skin irritations. Even today, modern medicine uses saline water, especially in surgery. It helps clean and sterilize wounds preventing infection.

What does it mean to be salt? Biblical writers compare salt to wisdom. Paul tells us in Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." An early biblical scholar writes, "Salt is the symbol of that wisdom which gives a relish for the sweetness of divine nourishment; preserves, by the teaching of the Gospel, from the corruption of sin, and prevents evil passions from growing in men's souls." Wisdom creates a desire in us to know Jesus better and drives us to study, prayer, reflection, and living as Jesus taught us to. It passes on the faith and wisdom of God by teaching the story of God's relationship with humanity, making sure the Bible is taught especially to our youth as we embrace learning as part of our journey in following Jesus. Wisdom prevents evil from growing in our hearts, just as salt keeps bacteria from growing in wounds, because it keeps us focused on Jesus.

This ties into the image of light Jesus uses here, "You are the light of the world." Light illuminates and pushes back against the darkness. It's an image of hope and guidance and brings life. While Jesus calls us the light of the world, our light comes from Jesus as it flows into us and through us into the world. As the light of the world, Jesus reveals what’s good and healthy, what’s blessed and beautiful in our culture, our relationships, and more. Jesus calls us to shine in the places he's put us in to reveal the good, the beautiful, and healthy, but also to reveal and push back against the dark and unhealthy; the places where there’s a lack of justice, grace, and health.

As light in the world, we’re called to be people of hope who create hope and show the difference following Jesus makes in our lives and shapes who we are. Jesus says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Our lives need to point to God, helping others see who God is. It's not through extraordinary deeds or accomplishments, it's through the simple everyday acts that show we care and are willing to be there with others, remembering that what we do for others, we’re doing for Jesus. As Mother Teresa said “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Because we’re keeping our eyes on Jesus, we love our neighbours, wanting them to flourish. Augustine wrote, “God is the only source to be found of any good things, but especially of those which make a man good and those which make him happy.” We are called to share the good news of Jesus; this is why we are here!

You can be a mentor to someone, guiding them by being an example and helping them develop into deeper followers of Jesus. You can pray for others and let them know you're praying for them. You can encourage others, building them up, and it doesn't matter how old or young you are, you all can bless others; creating a church and community of people who are blessed and who bless others, making sure God is the one who gets the glory and honour. It's simple things like stopping and spending time with others listening and showing interest in who they are. For many people today, just knowing that you’re willing to be there can make an enormous difference to someone, showing that God is interested in them too. This is grace, this is love, this is God working through you and in you. May this be our goal for 2024, that all our other plans and dreams will flow from who God is shaping us to be.