Jesus said to the disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.” So, let’s talk about salt.
Given the choice between snacks that are sweet or snacks that are salty, I go for the salty ones every time. Salt makes food taste better. Salt is abundant; it’s affordable. It’s a common, ordinary, simple substance. But it can make all the difference in the world.
Salt is sodium chloride. If the sodium levels in your body get out of whack, you’ll end up needing immediate medical attention. Salt is also a preservative. Salt can have healing properties. In short, salt promotes life and health and good quality of life.
But salt can also be too much of a good thing. Too much salt, and your blood pressure goes sky high. Too much salt in your food can ruin the taste. But it’s also true that too little salt falls short of good seasoning. So, when it comes to salt, it’s all about balance; it’s about just the right amount of salt. Not too much. Not too little.
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” Given the qualities of salt I just explored, let’s apply all of this to being disciples of Jesus. Which is to say, being salty disciples means that God uses ordinary, simple folk like us to make a huge difference in the world. God uses salty disciples to promote life and health and good quality of life in all the earth.
And when it comes to being disciples of Jesus Christ, just like salt, it’s all about balance. Too much saltiness in our dealings with people becomes overwhelming. Too little, and we end up not making the difference we’re called to make.
So, that’s salt. Then Jesus also said to the disciples, “You are the light of the world.” Now, let’s talk about light. Life would be impossible without the light of the sun. Light is necessary for photosynthesis in plants for them to bear fruit to feed the world. Light keeps us warm and safe. Light is all about conveying energy. Ultimately, the sun is the source of all light and is the foundation for all that energizes our lives and industry.
And light illuminates the world. Light helps us see the truth and realities of our surroundings. Light points beyond itself to that which is illuminated. We don’t look into the brightness of the flashlight. No, we look at what the flashlight reveals. And it’s true that a little bit of light can go a long way. It doesn’t take much light at all to shatter and scatter the darkness that surrounds us.
And like salt, too much light can be blinding, preventing us from seeing what is around us. And it’s also true that sometimes there’s not enough light to see things clearly. So, like salt, it’s all about balance, just the right amount of light. And again, a little bit of light goes a long way.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” Given these qualities of light, what does being the light of the world mean for our discipleship? Being light as disciples promotes the life of the world. Being light means bearing fruit to feed the world. Being light means conveying the energies of God in what we do and say. Being light means being rooted in the sun, that is, the Son, s-o-n and not just the sun, s-u-n.
Which is to say, it’s not our light that we shine but God’s light in his Son, Jesus Christ. We shine with the light of Christ and serve to bring illumination to the world, to reveal the truth about the world and its need for a savior.
And being light also means balance. We don’t shine in flashy ways that blind people from seeing the divine in what we say and do. Rather, we shine just brightly enough, knowing that a little bit of light goes a long way.
So, what do we do as salty disciples to reveal the light of Christ? Today’s first reading from Isaiah gives us a good idea of what we’re called to do, namely: “to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke… to share bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into our houses, to cover the naked” (cf. Isaiah 58:6-7a) When we do these things, the prophet says, “then our light shall break forth like the dawn and healing shall spring up quickly.” (cf. Isaiah 58:8a)
Thus, to be salt and light as Jesus’ followers is a high calling. When we are salt and light we reveal our righteousness as disciples. But when our salt loses its taste and when we hide our light under a bushel, then Jesus’ words that conclude today’s gospel reading can fill us with fear and dread: “For I tell you,” Jesus says, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” These words hit hard because we know from our own experience that we fall short, that our righteousness does not add up to our high calling.
Even with our best efforts at seeking justice, we collude with unjust systems all around us which keep people in chains. Even if we do our best at feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, there are still those multitudes who remain destitute and unhoused. On our own steam, our efforts don’t add up to the divine righteousness to which we are called.
But there is, of course, good news for us. And here it is in Jesus’ own words as recorded by Matthew when he summarizes the sacred mission that he’s on: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets,” Jesus said and then continued, “I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letters, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18) Which is to say, Jesus is the fulfillment of the law’s demands; Jesus completes God’s righteousness. And this fulfillment of the law is ultimately accomplished on the cross and in the empty tomb.
When Jesus talks about righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees, he’s talking about God’s righteousness made known in himself as the Christ, the anointed one. He’s not talking about our attempts at being righteous on our own.
Paul knew this reality of human shortcomings when he wrote, extolling the righteousness of Christ: “I did not come proclaiming the testimony of God to you with superior speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were made not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 2:1-4)
In other words, Christ, and through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s righteousness is given to us as a gift of grace apart from how salty or un-salty we are or how much or how little light shines in our deeds and words. And it’s this gift of God’s righteousness in Christ which indeed exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.
And this gift of God’s righteousness in Christ is given to us in the Word, and in the water of the font, and in the bread and fruit of the vine at this table. We need only receive this gift in confidence, in faith, and trust that the giver makes good on the gift.
Thus, in faith, we are freed from the burdens of the weight of our shortcomings, trusting that God in Christ in the power of the Spirit works through us, among us, and quite often in spite of us. Then in this divine freedom it’s all about what we get to do and not what we have to do. We get to be salt of the earth and light for the world in what we say and do, as the Holy Spirit works among us and alongside us.
Dear friends in Christ, we know how desperately this world needs the seasoning of our sacred salt. We know how desperately this world needs the light of Christ shining through us. And I daresay, we see this holy salt and light in the city of Minneapolis, where Christians of all stripes, but where Lutherans are prominent in number, are putting their lives on the line to come to the rescue of those under siege by ICE.
We can almost taste the saltiness of their discipleship and we can definitely see Christ’s light when they resist the violent, anti-democratic threats of our own federal government.
And we are inspired by their example. Today we observe Candlemas when the candles we use at church and at home are blessed. These candles are symbols of Christ’s light for the world. Thus, when these candles are blessed, we are by extension also blessed and commissioned to let our light so shine so that all may see our good works which give glory to our Father in heaven. Our candles are symbols of our own ministry in daily life through which the earth is seasoned with holy, life-giving salt and the world is illuminated with Christ’s healing, saving, reconciling light.
For the sake of the frightening, sorry plight of our nation and world, may Christ’s light shine in all that we say and do that the world may be seasoned for health and salvation. Amen.
