Salt and Light

Throughout this season of Epiphany, I plan to preach on the texts from 1 Corinthians each Sunday. This Sunday’s reading comes from 1 Corinthians 2, and I’m looking forward to reflecting on that text with you all on Sunday morning. At the same time, this week I’d like to share a brief written reflection on Sunday’s gospel reading, Matthew 5:13-20, which comes from the Sermon on the Mount. I believe that there are some important insights for us in these words of Jesus.

The text can be divided into three sections. In the first two, Jesus likens his disciples to both salt and light. In the third section, Jesus clarifies his own relationship, and the relationship of his disciples, to the scriptures that we call the Old Testament. I’d like to focus this reflection on the first two sections, in which Jesus uses the metaphors of salt and light to describe his disciples.

This portion of the Sermon on the Mount (which is found in Matthew 5-7) immediately follows the Beatitudes, which are the beginning of the Sermon. The word beatitude comes from a Latin word that means “blessed,” as in “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” When one looks at the qualities on which Jesus is pronouncing blessing, we might be surprised. When we think of “the poor in spirit,” (or, in Luke’s version, simply “the poor,” cf. Luke 6:20) “the meek,” and “those who mourn,” we’re unlikely to think of blessing. However, Jesus is defining the kind of people for whom the coming of God’s kingdom will be received as good news. These people receive Jesus’ message and become his disciples, and are thus blessed.

After describing these dispositions of disciples, Jesus tells the disciples that they are “the salt of the earth.” Why does Jesus liken his disciples to salt? Most of us use salt for seasoning purposes, to make food taste better. However, in the ancient world, salt was used primarily as a preservative. Before refrigeration, salt was applied to meat to extend the life of the meat. Without the salt, the meat would become rancid. Thus, Jesus’ disciples function in the world as a preservative. To the extent that we embody Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, we are preserving the world around us from decay. With our families, in our neighborhoods, in our work, and in our friendships, the presence of Jesus preserves the world from evil, from destruction.

Then, Jesus tells his disciples that they are “the light of the world.” Light allows for clarity of vision, and, as the people around us see lives lived consistent with the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus promises that his Father will be glorified. Living in the way of Jesus will inevitably draw attention, whether it is the star quarterback committed to wait until marriage for sexual intimacy, the Amish family forgiving the man who killed their children, or the parents opening their homes to the most vulnerable children. The question, “Why do you do that?” will come, and the Father of Jesus will be glorified.

Jesus gives a cautionary word, however, about both salt and light. Salt can lose its saltiness and light can be hidden. There is a danger, then, that disciples of Jesus will neglect the life that Jesus has called them to live, a life embodying the dispositions and practices outlined in the Sermon. The consequences are potentially dire, with the possibility of societal decay and neighbors not exposed to the radical, beautiful life of Jesus very real.

A final note of caution is in order. Throughout history many well-meaning Christians have taken the Sermon on the Mount to be a new law, and have given themselves to keeping the Sermon. The danger, however, is separating the Sermon from the preacher. In other words, one cannot embody the dispositions and practices of the Sermon apart from Jesus himself, and it is only through Jesus’ gracious gift of himself to us that we can begin to be the kind of people that live the Sermon on the Mount. Importantly, the first sentence of the sermon declares blessing on the poor in spirit, who are the spiritually bankrupt, the people who know they can’t do it on their own. Also, the center of the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ teaching on prayer, prayer in which we call God Father, and always come in need of provision and forgiveness. The life of the Sermon on the Mount isn’t for the spiritually strong and successful, but rather for those who recognize their need for God and find the life of Jesus deeply compelling.

I believe that the Christian call to be salt and light is essential to our life together, and we are only capable of doing so as we become the kind of people capable of living the life that Jesus gave us, which requires an increasing intimacy with Jesus and his Father and an intentionality to live lives consistent with Jesus and his kingdom. My hope and prayer is that we at Christ Church would be those people, for the world around us is in desperate need of Jesus, and the life that only he can bring.

Peace,

Chris