*Post 2 in a 4-post limited series on the Sermon on the Mount*
It's week 2 of our examination of the Sermon on the Mount. Last time we heard Jesus
give the sayings of blessed righteousness that we call The Beatitudes. He called the people blessed when they were poor in spirit, when they mourn, and when they are persecuted. This week he calls them salt and light.
"Jesus said, 'You are 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.'"
--Matthew 5: 13
This is a funny turn of phrase by Jesus. Of course, it is scientifically impossible
for salt to lose its saltiness. I
suspect Jesus knew this because, after all, he speaks in metaphors and parables
so often. He doesn't mean that salt could literally lose its saltiness, but rather he's talking about its usefulness,
its function. In the ancient world salt
was supremely important and had many functions.
It was used as a preservative to keep things from going bad, it gave
otherwise bland food some much-needed flavor, and it was sacred--it's color
represented purity--and it was used as an offering to the gods due to it being
formed from the relationship between the sun and the sea. To be called the salt of the earth was a good
thing, it still is. Someone who is "salt of the earth" is solid and preserves good in the midst of a not-so-good world. Such a person adds a little extra flavor to the lives of those around them. These folks, whom Jesus has also called blessed in the apparent brokenness, are such salt. But what if they lost such qualities? Jesus implores them to
maintain their "saltiness," even in the face of a dreary and sad world.
"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a 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, that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven."
--Matthew 5: 14-16
Not only are these folks salt of the earth, but they are the light of the world. This is one of my favorite lines in all the Gospels. It's
why I always use it as the offertory sentence. (Verse 16, that is.) Remarkably, Jesus calls this poor crowd gathered to hear him speak on the hillside "the lights of the world." These folks?! The ones who hunger and thirst and are reviled for trying to be peacemakers?! Yes, they are the lights of the world! That is a supreme compliment coming from the
one who is the True Light! They are the
reflection of the True Light, of Jesus, and they are meant to let that light shine all over the world. For when they do so, they will give glory to God and show the light of Jesus to everyone they meet. Something tells me these folks know This Little Light of Mine very well!
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and 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 and teaches others to do so 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."
Now Jesus shifts gears. He starts talking about
the Law, that is the 613 commandments of Torah.
Many argued that Jesus could not be the promised Messiah because he
himself had broken many of the Laws--he didn't wash his hands when he ate, he
healed people on the sabbath, and the charges that got him crucified were those
of a political traitor. But, he
explains, he has come not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. No doubt the folks listening to him would have been reminded of Moses giving the Law up on Mt. Sinai (remember the connection we made between Jesus and Moses last week?!). As Moses gave the Law, Jesus IS the Law. The very person sitting there teaching them is the fulfillment of the Law. And what is the Law, according to Jesus? Our Rite I liturgy reminds us in the Summary of the Law, with which we open every 8:00 Sunday Eucharist at Good Shepherd. It says:
"Hear
what our Lord Jesus Christ sayeth, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; this is the first and
great commandment and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself; on these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets."
--BCP, p. 324
On these two hang ALL the Law, he says. What is at the core of these two commandments--and thus the entirety of the Law--is respect, reverence and relationship: respect for God, reverence for one's neighbor, and relationship between the two. That's what the Ten Commandments are all about--reverence for God, respect for parents, reverence for the
sabbath, and respect for others' lives and their property; in fact, the first four Commandments are about humanity's relationship with God, while the other six are about humanity's relationship to each other. Jesus' whole being is a reflection of reverence for God, respect for neighbor, and relationship with both. Thus, Jesus himself is the fulfillment of the Law. No, he didn't obey all 613 Commandments--and he even gets a playful jab in at the Scribes and Pharisees who so fundamentally insisted that salvation could only be attained through such a following of the Law. Embody reverence, respect, and relationship, Jesus tells the crowd, and the Law will indeed be fulfilled.
But what does the Law have to do with salt and light? The
Greeks had a saying: justice, the said,
consists in giving to God and people that which is their due. What is due to God? Reverence. What is to to people? Respect. What is due to both? Relationship. Jesus came to show us in real-life terms what
justice looks like. It looks less like
strict adherence to rules and regulations and more like being salt and light. We ARE salt and light! If we are salt of
the earth we must offer that justice for God and our fellow human
being, even in a world that is really sour. We must do all we can to preserve hope and love in a world that is so often fearful. We must add the flavor of God's mercy and hospitality to a world that is merciless and hostile. And if we are the light of the world we must let the light of God's glory shine not only in our church but in our day-to-day lives: how we treat the young lady at the checkout line, or the waiter in the restaurant; how we play our sports and approach our work and studies. We must embody This Little Light of Mine. Hide it under a bushel? No! We gotta let it shine! This is, after all, what Jesus did. He was salt of the earth, and he was light of the world. He preserved goodness and he let his light of mercy shine. This is what it means to truly fulfill the Law! His mercy and love for this world
were poured out in the life he lived and the death he died, so that those who
followed him might carry on his message of justice. We, the salt of the earth and the light of
the world, are the very ones who must carry on that message. Because to do so is to truly fulfill the Law.
This Little Light of Mine
