Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany
Text: Matthew 5:13-20
The Rev. Dr. Sandy Selby
Matthew 5:13-20 13“Jesus said, “You are the 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. 14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18For 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. 19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, 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. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
In her final sermon here last week, Pastor Jean told us that she always sought to ground her sermons and her ministry in two things: context and intentionality—locating the context for each Sunday’s Scripture lessons within the grand scheme of the biblical narrative. And, sharing her insights into how we can focus our intentions, in terms of action and faithfulness, on what Scripture is guiding us to do in our daily life, as followers of Christ. In light of her retirement, I would add that for us, during this time of transition at Faith Lutheran Church, while we need to continue to pay attention to the biblical context within which we engage with Scripture, we also need to consider our particular context, in this congregation, after the retirement of Pastor Jean. What is the Word of God for this people, in this place, today?
In his classic book, Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, William Bridges says that all transitions have three phases: an ending, a beginning, and the neutral zone in between. With Pastor Jean’s retirement last Sunday, we are now in the neutral zone as we begin Phase 2 of the process of her departure and the appointment of our next pastor. How are we to navigate the grief and uncertainty of the neutral zone, individually and as a congregation? Today’s gospel from the Sermon on the Mount gives us important and helpful guidance for our journey, together.
Let’s begin by looking at the context. Matthew tells us that after Jesus’ disciples left their fishing nets to follow him, Jesus went throughout his home region of Galilee, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God and healing the sick. Soon, large crowds were following him. On one particular day, upon seeing the crowds, Jesus and his disciples went up a mountain, and Jesus began to teach them. His teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, takes up three chapters of Matthew’s gospel in which Jesus tells his disciples about the expectations and promises of life in the Reign of God, which Matthew calls the “kingdom of heaven.”
At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, it was just Jesus sitting down and talking with the handful of disciples who had left their nets to follow him. But as he talked with the disciples, the crowds who had been following him in Galilee climbed up the mountain to join them. And why wouldn’t they be drawn to Jesus? They lived under the yoke of Roman rule, where power meant oppression and brutality. Jesus showed them something else entirely: the power of healing and hope, the power of love. So the crowds surged up the mountain to be with Jesus, and what they heard was both familiar and new--grounded in the law and the prophets of their Jewish religion, yet “fulfilled” (to use Jesus’ word) in a new way of living. Hearing Jesus’ sermon the crowds were, Matthew says, “astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Mt 7:28-29). What was going on here?
Those who had been following Jesus in Galilee had already heard Jesus say what was going on, for again and again he had proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt 4:17b). But here on the mountain he was being more specific, telling them what life in the kingdom of heaven is about.
When we hear the phrase “the kingdom of heaven,” we may think of some future time in this world or the next when God will rule over all creation, and the violence, oppression, and inequalities of this world will pass away, and a new world of peace, love, and joy will prevail. Perhaps that’s what Jesus’ followers thought, too. But Jesus tells them the kingdom of heaven has already broken into the world, and life for the poor and the oppressed is being transformed. The meek will inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. The merciful will receive mercy. To those who live in the kingdom of heaven comes the blessed assurance that God always has the last word.
The truth is, Jesus invites all of us, today, to live in the kingdom of heaven, that Reign of God that Jesus ushered in and that continues in the risen Christ and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Using two metaphors, Jesus makes it clear that he calls his disciples to a way of living that is meant not for their own sake but for the sake of the world. “You are the salt of the earth;” Jesus says, “but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?” Those listening to Jesus knew that in the Hebrew scriptures and in their daily life salt served many functions: in ritual purification, as seasoning, and as a preservative. Salt does not exist unto itself, but has value only in relation to other things. Likewise, the disciples do not exist unto themselves, but “season” the world around them by living the values of the kingdom—justice, kindness, and peace.
Jesus said,“You are the light of the world...Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” By living the kingdom life, the disciples shine their light on God’s ongoing creative presence in all times and places. Jesus does not say, you “will be” the salt of the earth or the light of the world, suggesting that they will attain this status at some future date by their own actions. Nor does he say, you “should be” the salt of the earth and light of the world. Nor does he say, “you had better be” the salt of the earth and light of the world, threatening them with “do this, or else.”
Rather, Jesus tells them, “You are the salt of the earth.” “You are the light of the world.” And in those two simple phrases he gives his disciples—he gives us—both a gift and a promise. The gift is that as followers of Jesus we are already empowered to be the salt of the earth. God has already given each of us the ability to “season” the world around us with the goodness, kindness, mercy, and love that characterize life in the Reign of God. As the light of the world, we have within us the ability to shine the light of God’s love on the dark shadows of narcissism, cruelty, violence, self-seeking, intolerance, and exclusion. So let us be who God created us to be: salt and light, as individuals and as the Body of Christ in the world. “Don’t hide your light under a bushel,” says Jesus. “Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”
However small and insignificant our individual and corporate actions may seem in relation to the scale of issues, the clamor of voices, and the incivility of the body politic at the national and global level, today, we need to see our own offerings of salt and light as God’s promises that have been made and kept. God has called and equipped us to season the world with goodness, and shine the light of God’s ever-present love on the world around us. Whenever we are salt and light to others we give living testimony to the God who promises to be with us always, working with and among us for that which is good, that which is beautiful, that which is loving, that which honors the God is whose image we are made. As one commentator has said, “small is what God most often uses to change the world.”
As I looked through the most recent edition of our church’s newsletter, I couldn’t help but marvel at the many ways we are salt and light to the community around us, in the many Outreach ministries that serve the people of the Akron area, and the ways in which we are salt and light to each other, here at Faith Lutheran Church, through our children’s and youth ministries, through our music ministry, through seeing to the administrative needs of our congregation, through fun and fellowship, through making prayer quilts for those in need, and visiting those who are homebound. These are just some of the ways we are salt and light, in this place. In this time of transition, we need to let the light of God’s love shine, in caring for each other, and in continuing to bring the light of God’s love to the world around us.
Today at the 10:30 service, we will celebrate Scout Sunday, rejoicing in the work of Troops 390, 7390. and 3390, which have met here for many years. The bulletin board in the hallway across from the Fellowship Hall shows some of the many ways in which these young people in the scouting program are the salt of the earth and the light of the world in their work together, and in the community.
Friends, do not despair at the dysfunction and discord in the world around us, or at the uncertainty of the neutral zone in which we find ourselves here at Faith Lutheran Church during this time of transition. Know that God is faithful, and God empowers us—in our daily life in this congregation, and in our ministry in the greater Akron community, and beyond—to be the salt and the light that are a beacon of hope to a despairing and cynical world. As the anthropologist Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has.”
Salt of the earth. Light of the world.
Amen.
[1] Elizabeth Shively, www.workingpreacher.org, Lectionary for January 30, 2011.
(2) David Lose, “Promises - Not Commands,” http://www.davidlose.net/2017/01/epiphany-5-a-promises-not-commands.