St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, IL – 5th Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 112:1-10, 1Corinthians 2:1-16, Matthew 5:13-20
Matthew 5:13-20
[Jesus said:] 13“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.
14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In 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.
17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18For 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. 19Therefore, 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. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
NRSV
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Distinctive
Grace to you, beloved of God, and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Growing up in Brazil, if I went to a local grocery store to buy salt, I would probably find only iodized cooking salt. I could go to the back and ask for coarse salt for grilling, and that was it. The first time I went to Meijer in Champaign twenty-something years ago, I immediately noticed the different kinds of salt they had in the grocery section alone. There was iodized and non-iodized cooking salt. There was kosher salt, course sea salt, and fine-grain sea salt. Nowadays, one finds Himalayan pink salt. That is for cooking. There was also curing salt and rock salt for ice cream machines. If you go into other departments, you will find salt to melt ice on the ground and fertilizer for all kinds of plants, which are basically combinations of salts.
There are salts for all kinds of different purposes. If they, however, are used for things other than what they were meant for, they would lose their purpose. For instance, I did learn very quickly in my first winter that cooking salt does not work very well to melt the ice on the ground. I suspect one should not cure meats with fertilizer nor add sea salt to your flowers or rock salt to your steak. You got the picture. Salt can even be harmful if not used for what it is meant for.
There is no single interpretation of what Jesus means for his disciples to be the salt of the earth. Scholars go all over the place. They say salt was mainly used for cooking and preserving food, but also, “salts” were already used as fertilizers in some places. Salt was also known to treat wounds, and I heard somewhere certain mixtures of salts could be used as fire starters. The Roman armies were known to use salt to ruin the soil of nations who would resist their conquer. However, salt was used mainly to make things better. I suspect this is what Jesus means when he declares to the ones listening to him at the foot of the hill that they are the salt of the earth.
Our gospel today follows right after the end of the beatitudes we heard last week. Furthermore, Jesus addresses his audience in the second person plural. Therefore, Jesus is saying, you all, the collective of the hearers, the ones who are poor in spirit, mourning, meek, merciful, non-violent, oppressed, persecuted, slandered, thirsty, and hungry for justice, together now you have a new purpose. You, who are my disciples, as a harmony of different skills and talents, have a new unifying purpose to make things better.
This purpose has not changed to this day. We are still called to be a community of believers that heals, encourages, share joys, supports one another in sorrow, welcomes the stranger and the outcast, resists violence, forgives, and loves. Act any differently, and the communion of saints, the church of Jesus Christ, is no longer good for what was meant to be. Our collective light dwindles, becomes less visible, and we are no longer distinguished as his disciples.
Now, like then, we, as God’s people, go in all kinds of directions, trying to make sense of things and find the direction that would make us again feel the comfort of God’s presence. Thankfully for us, our Lord and Savior came down to be with us to refocus our mission. To remind us that we were made good to be a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, bearers of peace, and comfort to the afflicted.
The light of the world came down to us to show us, in person, face to face, how to be a light for others. May the Spirit restore our purpose, preserve our faith, and send us to be what we are good for. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Bridging Faith 