You are the salt of the earth.
You are the light of the world.
All of the commentaries I have are in
agreement that these statements from Jesus are of a corporate nature.
The “you” here is referring to y'all, not necessarily an
individual “you” of James, John, Peter, Bill, Sherrie, Pat,
Nancy, or whomever. He is referring to the corporate body of
believers.
One of those commentaries does a good
job, I think, of discussing the salt of the earth statement. Saying,
“You are the salt of the earth” today seems to have taken on an
entirely different meaning than what Jesus apparently had in mind.
You may know I'm not from here, so this may not have any meaning, but
in Montana, the Dakotas, Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, and
other parts of the west, when people call someone “salt of the
earth” it has a moral quality to it. It means they were good,
trustworthy, honest people. It means their yes meant yes. It means
their handshake was as good as their signature. It means that they
were the most likely to be featured in a Chevy truck commercial
wearing jeans, boots, and cowboy hat stomping through the dirt, rain,
and mud.
This commentary points out that salt of
the earth is not a moral or character judgment on the part of Jesus.
It was, instead, used to give color to a corporate body. It was used
to describe the function of that body, not its status.
Our function is to shake up the world.
Our function is to stand both out and apart from the world. Our
function is to be the flavoring of God's banquet. Taste and see that
the Lord is good. Our function is to help wake up the world to the
wonderfulness of God. This is why Jesus used the salt image. When
things are salted, our feast takes on a new flavor.
But salt today is common place. It's
on practically every table. Some people salt their food even before
trying it. Maybe this saying of Jesus has lost its saltiness.
If this statement describes our
corporate function, and if this statement has lost some of its
impact, maybe we need a new image. Our function is to shake up the
world. Our function is to draw attention to God. Our function is to
be the flavoring in God's banquet. Therefore, you are the habeneros
of the world. You, as the St. John's corporate body, are what will
flavor God's banquet as we invite people to taste and see that the
Lord is good.
You are the light of the world.
Here again we have a corporate “you,”
a description that this institution, this community, this body is the
light of the world. Before I discuss that, though, we need a
disclaimer. We, the corporate “you,” this body of believers, are
really not the light of the world. The true light of the world is
Jesus, and his light shines through us into the world.
Technicalities aside, what does it mean
for us to be the light of the world? Light does a number of things:
it makes it so we can see where we are going; it provides warmth; it
allows for growth; it can make us happy. And in the context of
scripture, it drives away the darkness and it draws people in.
It's that last part, drawing people in,
that I want to focus.
Out west there are plenty of stories
about people whose car has broken down or run out of gas, are
wandering through the night, or are trudging through a snow storm,
who see a light in the distance. That light draws them into a house
where they find shelter, food, and safety. People traveling will
more likely stop at motels that have working lights than not. Like
moths, we are drawn to the light.
We are living in a world that is hell
bent on promoting division and fear. People of all persuasions are
asking to be defended from Them; with some of those requests being
legitimate. We are doing our level-headed best to seal ourselves off
from any and all who are different. We are trying to cover the light
and hide it.
But that isn't what Jesus is calling us
to do. This corporate body is called to be a light to the world. If
we live without fear, if we live as Christ is calling us to live, if
we live so that our light shines out in the darkness, then we will
attract all those people who are broken down, walking in darkness,
and stumbling through dangerous terrain looking for shelter. If our
light shines in the world, we will attract those needing safe haven.
I believe St. John's is that place of
safe haven. All are welcome here: black, white, yellow, brown, male,
female, gay, straight, trans. No walls. No separation. When our
light shines, it shines on everyone.
So here we are, trying to add flavor to
this world through our distinctive calling as disciples. That
seasoning shows up in the Community Cafe, Micah's backpacks, the cold
weather shelter, and our soon-to-be daily worship. And here we are
shining the light of Christ onto a darkened and fearful world, a
light that indicates, “In here you are safe.”
We also need to remember that this is
not always a popular thing to do. Not everyone likes habeneros and
would rather avoid them all together. Following Jesus may lead us
into some spicy situations. And not everyone drawn to our light will
fit our preconceived notions of what an Episcopalian should look
like. But if we are the light of the world, if we are shining the
light of Christ onto a darkened world, we need to be prepared to
welcome all it attracts.
You are spicy. You are shiny. Our
challenge is to live into those functions without losing our flavor
or dimming our light.
Amen.
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