The Sermon on the Mount continues today with Jesus talking about function and the place of the Law. The sermon opened last week with the Beatitudes. I said then that this was the beginning of the fulfillment of the words from Jeremiah when God said there would come a time when he would write his law on our hearts. Those words of Christ get at the heart of the law and the prophets, and they are the foundation which this Jesus community is built on.
Jesus begins his sermon focusing on individual people. It's directed to people who experience poverty and who are marginalized. It's directed to people who mourn for a world far from God's vision. It's directed to people who work for justice and equality in the face of systems that protect and maintain status, exploitation, affluence, and injustices of all kinds. Blessed are you when you exhibit these behaviors and when you do the work of the Church.
From there Jesus moves into the corporate “you” when he says, “You are the salt of the earth,” and, “You are the light of the world.”
It's important to know that these two statements have to do with the function of the Church, not its status. Jesus is not saying that his followers, the Church, is or are more special than anyone else. You know how sometimes we will refer to someone as being “salt of the earth” to talk about their character? Or we will say, “They light up the room” to describe their personality? This isn't it.
Being the salt of the earth and the light of the world isn't about status, it's about what we do as the Body of Christ.
Jesus says we, the Church, are the salt of the earth. The message of the gospel, the Good News of God in Christ, is given to the whole earth. In a world and society that designs systems to run a certain way, the message we proclaim is designed to shake things up, much like spices shake up a recipe.
Now, Episcopalians have never been accused of being a particularly salty or spicy bunch. But we do have a particular flavor which we can spread on the world around us. We don't need to overwhelm people, i.e. “JOIN EVERYTHING!!!” We just need to give them enough. Invite people in. Sit with them. Talk with them at coffee hour. Talk about Saint Luke's outside of Saint Luke's. Because what we have to offer is meant for the wider community.
Likewise, we, the Church, are the light of the world. This light refers to Christ. Think about the beginning of John's gospel: What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Christ is the world's true light. The Church, as the image of Christ on earth, is the world's true light. That makes each of us individual tapers that burn with the light of Christ. We can shine individually, but for us to fulfill the mission of the Church and Christ, we must work together. It is only through the efforts of all of us that the light of the Church will blaze.
Both of these images of Jesus, salt and light, are presented as being for the benefit of the world. In order for us to salt the earth and be a light to the world, we must be willing to proclaim the message of Christ. We must be willing to proclaim the Word of the Lord.
If we refuse to speak up for the marginalized and downtrodden, if we refuse to stand with those whom society treats as second-class citizens or gives license to abuse, if we stay silent in the face of oppression, we have lost our saltiness.
If we refuse to shed light on injustices, if we hide behind religious ordinances and a desire to be polite, we are hiding our light under a bushel.
Is not this the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, let the oppressed go free, share our bread with the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked? For what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.
Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
This isn't about following the letter of the law trying to outdo someone else, this is about obeying the spirit of the law. How do we show mercy and kindness, and to whom do we show it? Who do we recognize as our neighbor? Do we treat those who don't look like us, talk like us, believe like us, with dignity and respect? Do we see the whole earth and all people as being of God, or are we too determined to create a place and society of “US?”
If we spend our time making excuses for why we can't defend or support those whom society marginalizes, or if we look for reasons why these mandates of God don't apply to us, then we have lost our saltiness and we will be trampled underfoot. We will have effectively hidden our light and kept those who need a ray of hope from finding any.
And what a shame it would be if we were more concerned with ourselves than with those whom God specifically calls us to care for.
Amen.
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